The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST PUTRAJAYA: Don't be alarmed if you seem to be bombarded lately with "love letters" from your bank, insurance agent and even Indah Water, vowing to protect your personal data. It is all part of the compliance process of these service providers to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 or PDPA. Enforced on Nov 15 last year, the Act requires companies and organisations that handle consumers' personal data in commercial transactions (known as data users) to notify them and get their agreement for collecting and processing the information within three months of the enforcement date. Based on this principle, if you have received notification from a data user that you don't remember signing up with, or no longer want to conduct business with, you have the right to request for your personal data to be deleted from its records. "The most important principle of the PDPA is that when a data user is using the personal data of consumers for commercial purposes, consent must first be obtained from the data owners," said Personal Data Protection commissioner Abu Hassan Ismail. The PDPA was formed primarily to regulate the processing of personal data for commercial purposes and safeguard consumers' rights amid the explosion of data in the world. Other than obtaining consumers' consent, data users must comply with six other principles of the Act, including ensuring that the data processed is accurate and taking practical steps to prevent it from loss, misuse or unauthorised access. Failure to comply with any of these principles is punishable by up to RM300,000 fine or three years' jail or both. Personal data is information such as name, address, telephone number, MyKad number, images from CCTV recording, bank account and credit card details, as well as any expression of opinion about a person. Consumers have the right to check their personal data with any data user to ensure they are not misused or abused. Abu Hassan said the authorities received 800 to 1,000 complaints of data leakages or abuses every month, including unauthorised selling of data to third parties. The Act is to create a culture of respect and trust in the management of personal data in the country. "We hope that public confidence will grow now that the Act has been enforced. "At the same time, the public must find out more about their rights as consumers and how to protect their personal information," Abu Hassan said. "They should always look at the fine print before giving their consent," he said. Abu Hassan added that the public can raise their personal data concerns or grouses to his department when the three months compliance period ends on Feb 15. Related Stories: Comply with Act or face action data users warned |
| It's business as usual on CNY Posted: 01 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST PETALING JAYA: While most Chinese restaurants took a break for the festive period, there were those which had to keep open for specific reasons. Kar Hiong Restaurant operator Pauline Chong, 41, said she decided not to close due to requests from her customers. She said the restaurants in SS18 Subang Jaya and Bukit Rimau enjoyed good business on Chinese New Year, with about 900 customers. "We took the opportunity to serve the needs of our customers as most shops were closed. We did not even increase our prices." Chong, who took over the business from her father, said Kar Hiong served up special menus for the festive period such as abalone and sea cucumber. For Lala Chong Seafood Restaurant manager Wong Thiam Foo, 35, closing shop for Chinese New Year was not an option – times were hard and business had to go on. And it proved to be a wise decision as well – the restaurant in Kayu Ara, Damansara, catered to about 800 people on the eve itself. The restaurant usually closed for four days during the Chinese New Year. "If we go on holiday now, it will be bad for business. We can't afford not to open," he said. Wong said the shop had been operating at a loss for the past two years due to hikes in rental cost, employee salaries and electricity tariff as well as competition from nearby shops. "When times were good, customers ordered good quality food such as shark fin, lobster and abalone to celebrate the Chinese New Year. "This time, customers only ordered basic dishes for dinner," he said. |
| Cops weed out five ganja growers Posted: 01 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST KOTA KINABALU: For the past four months, a group thought they had found the perfect place to grow an illegal crop – two plush condominium units at the exclusive Signal Hill area near downtown here. They had special paraphernalia such as devices to ensure cannabis plants grew faster. But everything was unrooted on Jan 29 when a police narcotics team raided the condominium units and arrested five people including a French woman. Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said the narcotics team raided the first condominium unit at about 11.30am and arrested the French woman, in her 30s, and a local 25-year-old man. He said police recovered 19 cannabis plants growing in pots with one already "harvested". About an hour later, the team raided another unit within the same condominium complex and seized five cannabis plants. He said police also recovered about half a kilogramme of processed cannabis placed in three packages. Comm Hamza said a maid was picked up from the second condominium unit, adding that two men who walked in were also arrested. He said police were investigating the case under Section 6B of the Dangerous Drugs Act which carries life imprisonment upon conviction as well as Section 39B of the same Act which provides for the mandatory death sentence. He said initial police investigations showed that the French woman had been in Sabah for about a year. "From the equipment we seized, this was definitely a professional approach in the way the cannabis plants were cultivated," he added. |
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