Padu still unable to allay public fears of data leaks, says Dr Wee

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong continues to criticise the Central Database Hub (Padu), saying that the Economy Ministry is still unable to allay lingering public fears that their data will not be leaked.

The Ayer Hitam MP stressed that it is not only external threats that people are afraid of.

“What happens if any custodian of the Padu data has evil intentions to disclose the data,” the MCA president asked in a video posted on Facebook Friday (April 5).

“I still recall a data leak at a Malaysian bank caused by a rogue employee giving up sensitive information to a third party.

“If this happens to the custodians of Padu’s database, what happens then? It will be too late to prosecute the one who did when the data is already out there,” he said.

Dr Wee’s statement was in response to a commentary by a Selangor PKR Youth leader who had defended Padu and refuted several of the Ayer Hitam MP’s past statements against the government’s database hub that called for the public to volunteer their personal data to better devise targeted benefits and subsidy programmes.

On April 1, Selangor PKR Youth deputy information chief Mohd Fauzi Fadzil said that Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said Padu is wholly maintained by the National Digital Department while the Cyber Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) would act on any untoward incidences with the hub.

But Dr Wee also dismissed Fauzi’s statement, saying that no matter which agency took care of Padu, it was not enough to guarantee the data security of millions of Malaysians.

“If YB Rafizi (Ramli) can give his 100% guarantee with a practical and reasonable rationale, I, Wee Ka Siong, will make a statement to support Padu. It’s very simple—just yes or no,” he said.

Dr Wee also reiterated his stance that benefits and subsidies such as the Sumbangan Tunai Rakyat (STR) and Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) could still be made available for the deserving with existing data in various agencies.