Law & Paneir

  WITH several ministers attempting to underplay expose over revelation that millions of personal data may have been compromised, an expert urged Putrajaya to stop trivialising such matters and act on the matter.    “We need an independent investigation to get to the bottom of the matter. The team must include former top-ranking police officers and ex-officials from the National Registration Department (NRD).    “The findings must be made public and those responsible must be arrested,” Arunachala Research & Consultancy Sdn Bhd principal consultant R Paneir Selvam told  FocusM.    Last week, tech website Lowyat.net reported that NRD dataset containing details of Malaysia’s population with birth years between 1940 and 2004 – roughly about 22.5 million people – was on sale for nearly RM44,000 at a database marketplace forum.   The seller claimed the personal data included full names, identity card numbers, addresses and photographs. Data fro...

  THE proposed plan by the Health Ministry (MOH) to ban the sales of cigarettes and vaping products to those born after 2005 will set a dangerous precedence that will impact the national economy and jobs – if this law is passed. The so-called poll conducted by the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) recently should be enough to set off a red flag against a bill of this nature. The poll by PPIM was carried out in response to the Government’s intention to outlaw smoking and vaping for future generations. It found that most respondents agreed that the ban should include other industries like alcohol, gambling, bars, nightclubs, karaoke places and sugary beverages. Clearly, this generation end game creates a slippery slope for other similar forms of legislation that may curtail the operations of legitimate and tax-paying industries. The Government is currently starting with cigarettes and vaping products. Where does it stop? From a legal perspective, when it comes to enacti...