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The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
MCA rejects MCMC legal demand for Pahang youth chief's apology
PETALING JAYA: MCA has rejected a legal demand from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for Pahang MCA Youth chief Wong Siew Mun to issue a formal apology, stressing that freedom of speech must not be suppressed. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the party held an urgent meeting and unanimously agreed that MCMC's demands were both unreasonable and unacceptable. 'MCA fully supports Wong Siew Mun. We firmly uphold the principle that freedom of expression must not be curtailed or compromised. We also believe she acted appropriately,' he said in a TikTok post on Friday (July 4). Dr Wee said Wong had received a legal letter on Thursday from a law firm representing MCMC. The letter reportedly demanded that she take down a Bahasa Malaysia TikTok video on freedom of speech, issue a public apology within 24 hours—with the content subject to MCMC's approval—and provide a written undertaking not to repeat similar comments on any social media platform. Failure to comply would result in civil legal action. Describing the conditions as excessive, Dr Wee said MCA would provide full legal support to Wong. He added that the party had assembled a legal team, including human rights lawyer Edmund Bon, to represent her in all legal proceedings. He reaffirmed MCA's long-standing stance on safeguarding civil liberties, especially the right to express opinions without undue interference or intimidation. On June 18, Wong was summoned by police over comments she made about the government's collection of mobile phone data. She is being investigated for allegedly causing public alarm and misusing network facilities. The investigation follows a TikTok post on 6 June, in which Wong questioned MCMC's move to collect mobile phone data from telecommunications providers. 'The video I posted was based on facts reported by mainstream media and official statements made by a minister and a government agency confirming that mobile phone data is indeed being collected from telcos,' Wong said. She is being investigated under Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, relating to causing public fear and misuse of network facilities. Earlier, MCMC clarified that the Mobile Phone Data Collection Initiative involves only eight types of anonymised data from network providers. It does not include personally identifiable information such as names, identity card numbers, or phone numbers. Instead, the data collected includes information such as the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN), unique ID, mobile country code, and GPS coordinates of telco towers, among others. The data collection had raised privacy concerns. Dr Wee had highlighted that the government's efforts to collate detailed records of phone calls and internet usage from telecommunications firms are a violation of the people's right concerning their personal data. He questioned the necessity of such detailed information, especially when MCMC itself clarified that the data is intended for policymaking in the ICT and tourism sectors. 'This isn't about trust in the current government. The real question is: why collect such detailed data on citizens? 'If you're recording who we call, how long we speak, our IP addresses and precise locations—complete with time and date stamps—anyone with access could easily trace it back to our identities,' he had said. @drweekasiong MCA akan terus mempertahankan hak dan kebebasan bersuara rakyat Malaysia sepertimana yang dijamin dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Tekanlah seteruk mana, ia sedikitpun tidak mematahkan semangat kami. Kami di MCA adalah #JurucakapRakyat #teamrakyat original sound - DrWeeKaSiong
Malaysiakini
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
MCMC's phone data grab is not harmless
COMMENT | In 2018 and again in 2022, Malaysians voted for reform, demanding greater transparency, democratic rights, and a government that listens. That is why the public backlash to recent revelations about the MCMC mobile data request has been swift and entirely justified. According to local and international media reports, such as The Edge and South China Morning Post, MCMC issued directives to five major telcos requesting mobile phone metadata for the first quarter of 2025. The fields listed include anonymised user IDs (MSISDN), precise date and time stamps, base station identifiers, GPS coordinates, data type (calls or internet), service type (2G - 5G) and mobile country code. On paper, names or identity card (IC) numbers were excluded, but in practice, metadata is never truly anonymous.
Malaysiakini
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
MCMC's phone data grab is not harmless
COMMENT | In 2018 and again in 2022, Malaysians voted for reform, demanding greater transparency, democratic rights, and a government that listens. That is why the public backlash to recent revelations about the MCMC mobile data request has been swift and entirely justified. According to local and international media reports, such as The Edge and South China Morning Post, MCMC issued directives to five major telcos requesting mobile phone metadata for the first quarter of 2025. The fields listed include anonymised user IDs (MSISDN), precise date and time stamps, base station identifiers, GPS coordinates, data type (calls or internet), service type (2G - 5G) and mobile country code. On paper, names or identity card (IC) numbers were excluded, but in practice, metadata is never truly anonymous.
The Star
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
MCMC: Only eight data types required from telcos in Mobile Phone Data collection initiative
The data will be collected and stored on premise in MCMC for three years. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star CYBERJAYA: Mobile network operators are only required to provide eight types of data in the Mobile Phone Data (MPD) collection initiative, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). "No personally identifiable information such as IC number, name or phone number are collected," said MCMC deputy managing director Datuk Zurkarnain Mohd Yasin during a media briefing today (June 9). He explained that the data collected include MSISDN (mobile station international subscriber directory number), which MCMC also termed as "anonymised subscribers' identifier"; unique ID; and the longitude as well as longitude data of telco towers. Also collected are data on the date and time of each transaction; data type (call detail records or Internet protocol detail records); type of network (2G, 4G or 5G) and mobile country code (country identifier to distinguish between local or international subscriptions). The data will be collected and stored on premise in MCMC for three years, he added. Zurkarnain also explained that the MPD is currently in pilot phase and is expected to continue until 2026: "We have started in Cyberjaya and Melaka. Then the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) will decide how it goes after that." He added that anonymised MPD is not classified as a form of personal data under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) because "it cannot be used to identify or trace individuals either directly or indirectly"; hence anonymised MPD falls outside the scope of PDPA. "We have no intentions to get information on individual whereabouts. MPD is considered as a new form of gathering statistical data. Previously, we had to rely on surveys or census," he said. On why it's crucial, Zurkarnain said it's part of the digital transformation agenda to rely on big data and analytics for a more targeted approach in policy making. The initiative is focusing on gathering official statistics in two key areas namely ICT and tourism. Last week, users raised concerns over data privacy and security after reports about the MPD collection initiative emerged. Commission member Derek Fernandez said claims about user personal data being collected are false. "The circular sent to the mobile network operators showed that we have requested for the data to be anonymised. We do not want any personal data," he said, adding no third-party contractor has been appointed for the initiaitve. Zurkarnain confirmed that a fine on mobile network operators for non-compliance is needed as part of a requirement to support the initiative: "Everybody has to play a role in national development. We can talk about wanting to implement digital transformation using big data but what if there is no data and the data owner does not want to cooperate, then where do we move from there?" He added that all mobile network operators have agreed to comply. DOSM will process and analyse the data for publication. When asked if users can opt out of the initiative, Zurkarnain said: "It is a Cabinet decision, what we are doing is for national development. This is part of a regulatory requirement that we have asked the operators to comply." Fernandez added that it is stipulated in the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for MCMC to gather relevant data to improve infrastructure: "We do it within the benchmarks of international standards and practices."
