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Sunday, January 7, 2024

alancing between data’s potential and its security

IN an era where data is king, the launch of Malaysia’s Central Database Hub (Padu) marks a significant milestone.

For the first time, the government will be collecting personal data on an unprecedented scale – everything from IC numbers and addresses to bank details and property ownership – into a single repository.

While revolutionary in its potential to streamline government services and target subsidies effectively, this initiative raises profound concerns about the security and privacy of our data.

Currently, we have the Personal Data Protection Act on the books. However, under Section 3(1) of the Act, this law does not apply to the government. 

Personal Data Protection Act 2010

Does this mean the extensive data collected through Padu is not afforded the same protections as it would if it was collected by private entities?

Previous data misuse and breaches in government systems only exacerbate our fear.

Cybersecurity firm Surfshark has listed Malaysia as the eighth most breached country globally in Q3 2023, with 494,699 leaked accounts. This represents a 144% increase in breach rate compared to Q2 2023.

According to its midyear threat landscape report, leaks from the government sector constituted 22% of total security breaches from January to June 2023.

The fundamental questions cannot be avoided: Can we trust the government with so much of our personal information? What assurances are there that it will be protected against misuse and theft?

The answers, according to most analysts and experts, lie in reforming the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) to encompass government data handling.

Amending the PDPA to include the government and all its agencies would be a significant step toward securing public confidence.

It would ensure the same rigorous data protection standards applied to private entities are also binding upon the government.

Such an amendment would not just be a legal formality; it would be the government’s commitment to the people, a reassurance that our personal information is valued and protected with the highest standards of security and privacy.

It would demonstrate a recognition of the principle that with great power comes great responsibility, especially when that power involves access to the extensive details of one’s financial and personal life.

While Padu presents an opportunity for public administration in Malaysia to take a huge leap forward, it also poses a significant risk to personal privacy if not appropriately managed.

The need to amend the PDPA to apply to data collected by the government is not just a regulatory necessity but a critical step in building trust between the citizens and the state.

Only with such legislative safeguards can the government assure its people that their data, their most personal and sensitive information, is in safe hands.

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PADU to help govt identify eligible targeted subsidy

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Firms’ legal battle against US ‘forced labor’ slur necessary

 

Photo: Vitaly Podvitsk


The legal battle between Chinese laser printer manufacturer Ninestar and the US government has received wide attention, and the unfolding of the thorny legal dispute surrounding the case has further revealed how brazen Washington is in implementing trade bullying by placing the label of so-called forced labor on China. 

After Ninestar and its seven subsidiaries were put on a list under the US' so-called Uygur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA), the company sued the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, a multi-agency body led by the US Department of Homeland Security, in the US Court of International Trade, accusing it of acting in an "arbitrary and capricious manner in violation of US law" and arguing that the listing decision was taken "without offering any explanation or justification."

Now the legal fight is heating up, in part over who shares the burden of proof and the reliability of the evidence, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.

In a December filing, Ninestar claimed that the US government's decision lacked evidence and "applied a low standard of proof," and its basis was "retroactive." The company also asked the court to suspend the implementation of the government's action.

While the ultimate outcome of the case is unclear, it has already played a role in exposing the US roughness and lack of supporting evidence, letting the world know how brazen Washington could be in using lies to suppress Xinjiang industries and Chinese manufacturing.

It is no secret that the so-called forced labor and genocide claims in Xinjiang are utter lies made up by radical politicians, media and think tank scholars in the US and the West.

In recent years, Xinjiang has made great achievements in manufacturing development. In particular, large-scale mechanized production has become increasingly popular in most areas in the region, with the mechanization rate of Xinjiang's cotton sector at about 90 percent.

So how is "forced labor" possible? In the context of China-US tensions, playing the "Xinjiang card" is actually nothing but another tool the US has used to contain China's development. It wants to deprive local people of employment, creating de facto "forced unemployment" and thus disrupting the steady growth of Chinese manufacturing.

This is the fundamental reason why the UFLPA, turning a blind eye to the basic principle of the modern rule of law - the presumption of innocence - exercises the controversial presumption clause that requires enforcement authorities to presume that all goods "mined, produced, or manufactured" in whole or in part in Xinjiang are made with "forced labor" while forcing companies to incriminate themselves.

Because of this lie, products made in Xinjiang are collectively targeted and discriminated against by Western supply chains. If this is not a violation of the international trade order, then what is?

Even as Washington is obsessed about catering to its domestic political environment and strategic needs to suppress Chinese manufacturing, it is still important for Ninestar to defend its interests by resorting to legal action. Whatever the outcome of the case, Chinese companies need to have their voices heard.

Even if litigation is costly and doesn't guarantee winning the case, we still believe that more Chinese companies should seek clarity and challenge trade rules that carry political intentions through legal means.

Chinese companies should not accept this. We also hope that relevant industry associations provide more legal assistance and support to companies that were blacklisted by such unfair trade measures

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Thursday, January 4, 2024

PADU to help govt identify eligible targeted subsidy

PADU: Who is responsible for protecting your personal data?

?

 https://soyacincau.com/2024/01/02/padu-what-is-it-is-your-personal-data-safe-xrs/

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on Malaysians to register and update their information on the national Central Database System (Padu) to address leakages in the allocation of government expenditures and subsidies.

Suspend Padu registration until security concerns addressed ...
@eugen I do not understand why the government wants to know so many details of the people / rakyat. Doesn't the government already have all the personal details under the sun of the people? There are National Registration Department's (LPN) database of personal details of every single citizen, Immigration Department's passport and in/out records of every citizen, JPJ's database of all vehicles and all drivers, Income Tax Department records of incomes of every citizen with income, Company Commission (SSM) records of all businesses and their owners, RoS (Registrar of Societies) database of all the organizations and NGOs, Bank Negara records of citizens and their bank accounts, even City Council (Majlis Bandaraya), Land Office (Jabatan Tanah dan Galian), MCMC (SKMM), TNB, water supplying companies, IndahWater, Maxis, Digi, U-mobile all have our personal details. What other details does the government want? We are worse than a communist country.
Once the government rectifies flaws in the database hub, billions of ringgit in subsidy leakages can be channeled to the right groups.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/01/04/security-barriers-in-place


TA Research expects the government to educate people about Padu to ensure that the subsidy-rationalisation plan stays on track.

PETALING JAYA: The newly launched national Central Database Hub (Padu) is a move in the right direction for ensuring fairer subsidy distribution, analysts say.

However, its system self-updating information could be “a little bit tedious” particularly for senior citizens and those residing in rural areas, said TA Research.

The research house expects the government to educate people about Padu in order to make sure the subsidy-rationalisation plan stays on track.

The public will be given a three-month period until March 31, 2024 to update and verify their information on the database.

Since this is not compulsory, no action will be taken against those who do not update their information in the database.

With the implementation of Padu, TA Research said the government aims for a more focused distribution of subsidies and partly move away from the general income categories such as B40, M40 or T20, which does not give a true picture of household disposable income.

“However, there is a catch, whereby those who did not register would be at risk of being excluded from receiving targeted subsidies. We are made to understand that the risk of exclusion may occur as the government will use existing information and information updated in Padu to determine the household profile and eligibility for those who qualify for targeted subsidies or otherwise,” the research house added.

TA Research said on the reliability of the data in the system should be reasonable.

“Managed by the Statistics Department, we believe the given information will be cross-checked and verified by the related government agencies. For the record, Padu covers 270 types of data under the federal government from various agencies. Data from state and local governments will be gradually included,” it said.

According to the research firm, this process should happen in the second phase, probably in April-June 2024, just in time for the subsidy rationalisation plan to take place in the second half of 2024.

The implementation of targeted subsidies is expected to help the government achieve its target of reducing the fiscal deficit to between 3%-3.5% of gross domestic product by 2025. The government has allocated RM52.8bil for subsidies this year. It is projected to decrease by 17.9% compared to an estimated RM64.2bil in 2023, primarily due to the gradual implementation of subsidy rationalisation, TA Research said.

'Vital to ensure no one slips through the cracks ...

PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya must find ways to ensure deserving aid recipients do not slip through the cracks under the Padu system, say economic experts.

There must be ways to catch “errors of omissions” and “errors of inclusion”, where there will be some who are qualified but excluded – whereas there will be those who are not qualified but they are mistakenly included, said economist Datuk Dr Madeline Berma of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

“As for the near real-time aspect, there is the question of the honesty of Malaysians to update the data.

“Should you be unemployed today and getting subsidies, would you update your data of getting employment at the expense of forgoing your subsidies six months later?

“While it all looks good and fine on paper, data must not be allowed to rule and human elements should not be disregarded.

“The data must be used to facilitate and expedite but not to be rule-all,” said Berma, who also called on the government to make full use of the community arms such as NGOs to ensure that no one falls through the gaps.

Malaysian Inclusive Development and Advancement Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia director Tan Sri Noor Azlan Ghazali said that when it comes to such a database, purpose matters.

“Errors will always be there. It is best to define the accepted level of error and quickly get to fixing problems.

'Click To Enlarge''Click To Enlarge'

“Is there a need to go to the individual level? Is ground targetting sufficient?

“Weigh the costs and the gains,” said Noor Azlan.

Economics expert Prof Dr Chung Tin Fah of HELP University also said having a central database is laudable but pointed out that there is always a problem of how reliable the data can be.

He said this is due to the possibility of certain groups such as those living in remote geographical locations and those outside the scope of coverage such as informal sector workers being omitted from the database.

He said the government must focus on the inclusion of such groups in order to enhance data reliability.

Economics expert Prof Dr Geoffrey Williams of the Malaysia University of Science Technology (MUST) said everyone has an incentive to help make it work by updating their data quickly and accurately in the Padu central database.

“If they are dishonest, there should be swift penalties. This will make sure people provide accurate data and keep it updated,” he said.

Monday, January 1, 2024

Happy New Year 2024 – It is all about reforms

 


The planned subsidy rationalisation for fuel and the introduction of the Progressive Wage Model are two key elements for reforms.— Reuters

LAST week, this column explored what the year 2024 will bring to investors as expectations of cuts in global interest rates and lower inflation prints will likely be the main theme for global markets amid heightened geopolitical risk. This week, the focus is on Malaysia and what lies ahead.

Just over a year since the unity government was formed, the government remains strongly in place with additional support from even some opposition members of Parliament that has given Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim an upper hand in initiating change for the betterment of the country in terms of new legislations, amendments to existing laws as well as the much-talked about reform agenda.

The cabinet reshuffle and appointment to key posts such as the choice of Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan as the new second Finance Minister and Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani as the new Plantations and Commodities Minister are welcome changes to the cabinet, although it would have been much better if the Prime Minister had relinquished the post of Finance Minister.

Political reforms


With more than three years to go before the next general election is called, it is time for this government to introduce some political bills that will make governance stronger irrespective of who is in power.

Key among them is limiting the terms of the Prime Minister to two terms, limiting the Prime Minister in office from holding any other portfolio, especially that of Finance Ministry, and introducing the political funding bill, which has been long-delayed.

Other key reforms include providing greater enforcement powers to agencies like the Securities Commission to ensure that capital market wrongdoers are severely punished and not subjected to the whims and fancies of an individual’s political affiliation or power.

Even the recent reprimand and action of several directors in relation to the Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd fiasco was seen as a mere slap on the wrist, while minority shareholders and debt holders were completely wiped-out.

Separating the roles and power of the Attorney General and the Public Prosecutor will instill confidence in the judiciary process while the introduction of a race-relation bill too will certainly help issues related to 3R (race, religion, and royalty).

In the pipeline, the Freedom of Information Bill and Government Procurement Bill are the other two key reform agendas that are expected to be tabled, which will provide greater transparency and accountability.

These key reforms must be carried out, without fear.

Economic and social reforms


The planned subsidy rationalisation for fuel and the introduction of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) are two key elements for reforms.

While this column does not agree that targeted subsidies are the right approach towards removing fuel subsidies and prefers a gradual and mannered approach to raising pump prices, it is hoped that the targeted subsidy mechanism will be implemented smoothly.

Failure is not an option as the political backlash can be severe for the sitting government.

As for PWM, the government’s incentive is welcome but it would be better if the government does not intervene in the labour market by providing wage subsidies to participating organisations.

The government will be better off by implementing a progressive increase in minimum wages by increasing the current minimum wage by RM200 to RM300 gradually every couple of years to reach at least RM2,500 by 2030.

Enforcement is also key as we are seeing how certain corporations are still paying wages below the current threshold level.

The government should also provide a wage guide for certain jobs to ensure compliance while jobs that no Malaysians want to be engaged in such as the 3D (dirty, dangerous and demeaning) jobs should be categorised separately.

In this category, the government should also step up the levies imposed on foreign workers to the extent it makes no sense to employ foreigners as our over-dependence on foreign labour has caused us to become a low-wage economy and being surpassed by countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Other economic reforms relate to Malaysia’s low tax to revenue, which is almost seven percentage points lower than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average of 19%.

Malaysia must make efforts to raise taxes via the introduction of not only new taxes (low-value goods tax, higher sales and service tax, and capital gains tax, are welcome moves to raise tax collection) but also the removal of the abundance of tax reliefs that are given to both individuals and corporations.

Malaysia needs to widen the tax net to have a greater number of taxpayers.

The introduction of e-invoicing beginning in August 2024 is a welcome incentive to capture the shadow economy as undeclared taxes will now be under greater scrutiny.

It is hoped that with e-invoicing, the government’s tax revenue will increase substantially to address some of the shortfalls that we presently experience in terms of tax collection. 

Decent growth


The Malaysian economy is poised to expand by 4.5% in 2024, thanks largely to an expected recovery in the manufacturing and external demand while large infrastructure projects could propel the construction sector too to register above-average growth.

The multiple economic blueprints and Budget 2024 announced this year – the Madani Economy framework, National Energy Transformation Roadmap, New Industrial Master Plan 2030, and the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-term Review are key catalysts to take Malaysia to the next level and must be executed well to ensure the targets set are met based on pre-determined timeline.

OPR on hold


While the consensus view is that Bank Negara will likely hold the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3% in 2024, there is an even chance for the central bank to cut the rate by at least 25 or 50 basis points if economic growth doesn’t match the expected moderate pace or if inflation remains subdued.

After all, with most central banks turning dovish and ready to cut rates, the

spread between the OPR and other benchmark rates will narrow.

This will provide the central bank the monetary space to cut rates, especially if the ringgit recovers strongly in 2024.

Whither the ringgit?


Almost everyone who is asked their opinion on the ringgit has the same response – that the ringgit is undervalued.

Ironically, that opinion has been held for the longest time and yet the ringgit continued to weaken for one reason or another.

The key to the ringgit’s performance is not just about the investment and portfolio flows, but also the large element of errors and omission, which is a reflection of the level of illicit outflows that the country has been facing for a long time.

Until and unless the general view is that the government is doing the right thing to build market confidence with strong political stability, these outflows are not going to reverse anytime soon.

Hence, the government needs to instill this confidence not only among foreign investors (both foreign direct investments and non-resident portfolios inflows) but also among resident investors.

Having said that, with the ringgit last seen at about RM4.60.90 to the US dollar, down by approximately 5% in 2023, it is expected that the ringgit will regain ground in 2024 with RM4.46 being its fair value using the Bank of International Settlement’s effective exchange rate index.

Since the end of 2019, except for 13.1% and 1.3% gain against the Japanese yen and the Thai baht respectively, the ringgit has weakened 1.5% against the Indonesian rupiah and between 9.9% and 15.2% against other major currencies such as the British pound (minus 9.9%); Australia dollar (minus 9.9%); China yuan (minus 10.5%); euro (minus 11.8%); US dollar (minus 12.6%); and a deficit of 15.2% against the Singapore dollar.

2024 game changers


On Jan 11, 2024, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Malaysia and Singapore to establish the Special Economic Zone in Johor is expected to be inked and this will pave the way for both Malaysia and Singapore to capitalise on each other’s strength for the economic benefit of both nations, and in particular, for Johor.

The most important element of this MOU will be the scope, depth, and breadth of the agreement that could lift the demand for the Johor property market, in particular the industrial, commercial, and residential segments.

The other game changer would be the Request for Proposal process for the long-delayed Kuala Lumpur-singapore High-speed Rail (HSR), which is expected to kickstart from mid-january.

The HSR will be expensive and may not be economically feasible based on the cost involved, but Malaysia cannot afford not to build on large-scale infrastructure that will change the landscape of transportation in Malaysia as the next step would be to connect Kuala Lumpur to the Thai border as part of the Asean railway integrated line.

Looking at HSR models across the world, there are only a handful of profitable lines, yet new lines are still being built purely for socio-economic reasons.

Right stocks


While broking firms are largely fixated on the FBM KLCI index with the consensus view that the index may even hit 1,600 points based on a relatively inexpensive 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio, the real outperformance will come from stocks that will benefit from the government’s reform agenda and infrastructure projects.

Recovery theme from a stronger external demand should benefit Malaysian exporters while selected property names too are expected to ride on the Johor theme that has already seen a strong momentum this year.

Plantation stocks too are expected to do better with higher crude palm oil prices in 2024 while building material companies should benefit from higher construction activities next year.

A word of caution – while 2024 looks promising, it will not be smooth sailing as the market is still concerned on the pace of rate reductions and by what quantum while domestically, the expected recovery in external demand, a benign inflation environment and sustained consumer demand are key to Malaysia’s economy in 2024.

In addition, the expected earnings growth pencilled in by broking firms is relatively high at 13.6%, which is likely to be met with disappointment along the way. The key will be the first and second quarter 2024 earnings momentum, which will set the stage for the market’s performance next yea

 Wishing all readers a Happy New Year, may 2024 bring joy, happiness, and good fortune.

The Star - StarBiz

Pankaj c. kumar

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