Article and photos contributed by Sarah Yong Li Hsien, Officer, Ad Hoc Committee on Personal Data Protection
On 26 Nov 2014, the Bar Council Ad Hoc Committee on Personal Data Protection (“Committee”) visited the Personal Data Protection Department (“PDPD”) at the Ministry of Communication and Multimedia in Putrajaya. The delegation, led by Co–Chairpersons, Suaran Singh and Foong Cheng Leong, consisted of 11 persons, including committee officers, Sarah Yong Li Hsien and Anneliz Reina George.
Mazmalek b Mohamad, the newly–appointed Director General of PDPD and his Deputy, Dr Zainal Abidin b Sait were on hand to welcome the Committee. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Committee, and discuss various matters relating to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA”).
The meeting started at 9:30 am and some of the matters discussed were whether the Malaysian Bar will be appointed as the data user forum for lawyers, and about the drafting of the code of practice for lawyers. The Committee informed PDPD that it has been working on the code and it may be ready by early next year.
PDPD informed the Committee that it is not necessary to obtain consent to process personal data of existing customers collected prior to the enforcement of the PDPA, and the privacy notice issued in accordance with the Notice and Choice Principle does not need to be sent via AR registered post, pursuant to section 136 of the PDPA.
It was also revealed during the discussion that investigations have been conducted on parties alleged to have breached the PDPA. However, none have been charged under the PDPA yet. Other technical and practical issues were also raised during the meeting.
The Committee will organise another meeting at a later date to discuss issues such as the data user forum and the issue of consent.