Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has responded to questions surrounding the Mobile Phone Data (MPD) initiative, stating that there are no plans to dismiss it. He claims that no privacy violations have occurred, and that all necessary safety measures have been implemented. However, three core concerns remain: (i) the MPD initiative lacks public trust, (ii) an oversight mechanism, and (iii) legal safeguards. With these concerns yet to be addressed, is the government expecting Malaysians to comply with the MPD initiative unconditionally?

At present, the MPD is approved, implemented, and monitored entirely by the government. This means there is no independent verification of how data is used, how long it is stored, or whether it has already been leaked. Without any form of external oversight, the Minister’s assertion that “no privacy has been breached” is simply not credible.

Trust must be earned, not demanded

The government has been secretive about the MPD from the start. If not for foreign media reports, Malaysians would not have known that their phone data was being requested. Yet the government has neither apologised nor offered any explanation. Instead, it continues to push the plan forward, further damaging public trust in the system.

MCA Youth Pahang calls for the immediate suspension of the MPD initiative. Before it is reconsidered, the following conditions must be met:

1.         Immediate suspension of the MPD initiative. Before it is reconsidered, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

2.         A truly independent third party oversight body must be established. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which falls under the Communications Ministry, cannot be expected to monitor itself

3.         All data access must require court approval, with clear limits on the purpose and duration of use

International standard is not just a catchphrase

The Minister claims the MPD complies with international standards. Yet in countries such as the United Kingdom, the European Union, and New Zealand, data access is tightly regulated through court oversight, external review, and fixed retention periods. In those jurisdictions, data belongs to the people, not to the government.

When misused, data can lead to far more than scam calls and targeted advertisements. It can become a tool for harassment, surveillance, and political retaliation.

If the government can track every movement, interaction, and browsing activity of an individual, do we not risk turning the country into a prison?

Most absurd of all is the Minister’s defence that the plan should continue because “nothing has gone wrong so far”. That is like a driver refusing to wear a seatbelt and saying, “I have not crashed yet, so seatbelts do not matter”.

Protecting privacy does not get in the way of national security. It protects us from abuse of power. Only with transparency and limits on authority can technology serve the people, instead of being used to control them.

Wong Siew Mun
MCA Youth Pahang Chief

31 July 2025

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