KUALA LUMPUR: Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil has assured Malaysians that their data collected for the central database hub, or Padu, will not be exploited to gain votes.
Joining in the criticism of the Padu initiative yesterday, political activist Shahir Adnan said he hoped the data collected would not be used for political purposes to garner votes in the next general election.
Responding to Shahir, Fahmi told reporters here today that any agency which provides data or information to Padu must comply with several terms and conditions set out by the personal data protection department.
“So, it cannot be misused. I believe that even if there were instances of misuse in the past, it won’t happen again.
“Our campaign methods (for elections) are different and, God willing, we will not misuse it,” he said at an event at the people’s housing project (PPR) in Kerinchi here.
There have been concerns about Padu, a comprehensive database that is meant to accurately gauge the population’s socioeconomic status to disburse targeted subsidies, since it was launched on Tuesday.
While a loophole in its system which allowed third parties to use the identity card numbers to override passwords was fixed, there is still concern about potential abuse and data security, especially since the government is exempted from liability under the Personal Data Protection Act.
Responding to these claims, economy minister Rafizi Ramli said government agencies are covered by their own regulations on data, and not PDPA.
However, rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) insisted that the protection provided by various laws applicable to government agencies is insufficient to safeguard personal data, adding that its protection cannot be left to “ad hoc and superficial regulations” of individual government agencies or departments. - FMT
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