KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): The draft amendment to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 to curb personal data breaches is expected to be presented in Parliament before the end of this year.

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Personal Data Protection Department is currently looking at several improvements to the amendment prepared by the previous government before it it is extended to the Attorney General’s Chambers. 

“We are looking at several additions in new aspects that are reasonable and applicable, which can be included as well,” he told Bernama here. 

Fahmi said the amendment will also look into mandatory notification of companies or data holders to the department in the event of a data breach.

In addition, he said the amount of fines or penalties against data user companies found to be misusing data should also be increased to the maximum level.

He expressed disappointment that since 2017, the average amount of fines or penalties imposed on about 25 companies involved in data leaks was only an average of RM24,000 per company.

“These are disappointing figures, especially when the data breaches amounted to thousands or tens of thousands.

“These were fines from 15 years back, and do not necessarily fit current times ” he said. 

Meanwhile, he said his ministry is also planning to elevate the department as a statutory body to ensure it has enough resources to combat the issue of personal data leaks. 

“If we want to develop the digital economy, we cannot be reliant on one entity only. The department must be improved for it to have more manpower in terms of enforcement and so on,” he said. 

On cyber scams, Fahmi said his ministry is constantly looking for avenues to curb the menace, including discussions with telecommunications service providers.

Meanwhile, he said measures to enhance digital literacy among users will also continue to be implemented to raise public awareness of cyber fraud. 

He said there are more than 14 types of cyber scams, and scammers are always looking for other methods once their activities are curbed, while adding that the Information Department will provide as much information as possible to raise public awareness.

This includes working with communities, including mosques, houses of worship of other races, religious groups and schools.