Zahid: Only Home Ministry has right to release personal data

BAGAN DATUK: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today urged people not to worry about information leakages from any party as only the Home Ministry has the right to release personal data.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, noted that private vendors for the ministry's system were not privy to any information on individual data because they had been synchronised.
"The right of giving the data is with the agency, in this case the Registration Department. So don't worry about information leakages because they are only vendors who don't have the right to give the data.
"Only the Home Ministry has the right to give it," he told reporters after meeting the Bagan Datuk Indian community at Dewan India Sanmarka here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid was asked on a report by a local newspaper that said that the Home Ministry would review the security access of vendors and contractors in sensitive areas.
This comes following the arrest of two officers from government linked companies by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Thursdays for alleged corruption and power abuse.
Two corporate figures, including the acting chief executive officer of a government-linked company, were remanded for six days until Jan 25 to facilitate investigations into alleged corruption and power abuse.
Elaborating further, Ahmad Zahid said the Home Minsiter had their own standard of procedures as well as followed the guidelines set by the Finance Ministry's Treasury Department for suppliers and vendors.
"If they (vendors) are not qualified to do something or they go outside of the procedure during the contract term, stern action has to be taken on them including the termination of the contract.
"We will work with the Finance Ministry in this matter," he said and added that the ministry was collaborating with the commercial crime division of the police to investigate the issue. — Bernama