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Thursday June 18, 2009

First reading of Personal Data Protection Bill


THE Personal Data Protection Bill, which aims to protect and regulate the use of private data, will be tabled for first reading in October.

Deputy Information, Commu-nication and Culture Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie said the Attorney-General Chambers had finalised the draft for the Bill.

“The Bill will not only be limited to cyber space laws as it will also include sectors such as tourism, finance, insurance, telecommunications and other fields that involve commercial transactions,” she told Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN — Kinabatangan).

Heng said the drafting of the law was aimed at monitoring the processing of private data by users and to give protection to individuals, whose data was being processed, and safeguard their rights and prevent abuse.

Heng said the Bill would also come with an enforcement mechanism to get data users to comply with the provisions.

She told Saifuddin Nasution (PKR — Machang) that it was important for the ministry to receive feedback on the proposed Act as it would have a huge impact on existing system on data usage, adding that it had already consulted various non-governmental groups and sectors.

To another question by Bung Mokhtar, Heng denied that fraud or abuse had delayed the formulation of the Personal Data Protection Act.

She said the Bill would be presented together with the Credit Reference Agencies Bill under the Finance Ministry, aimed at regulating credit reference agencies like Credit Tip Off Service (CTOS).

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