He said other countries have adopted different approaches in addressing the issue, whether by amending the existing laws or formulating new legislation.

“We are considering these matters. I hope a decision can be made and brought to the Cabinet’s attention soon,” he said during his ministry’s winding-up speech in the Dewan Rakyat.

The proposal was made by Wee Jeck Seng (BN-Tanjung Piai) earlier.

Gobind said his ministry, through the Personal Data Protection Commissioner’s Office, received complaints and reports on personal data leaks from other agencies.

These included the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

He said all complaints had been investigated based on the seven principles of personal data protection as well as other related regulations.

Gobind said the ministry was also working on the proposed amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 to enhance personal data security.

“The federal and state governments are working together to develop their respective cybersecurity policies to ensure the government’s ICT systems are safeguarded from hacking,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said Cyber99, the cybersecurity incident response centre, had recorded a significant drop in the number of incidents — from 7,192 cases in 2022 to 3,232 cases last year.

Gobind said the centre had recorded 5,575 cases in 2021 and 4,194 in 2020.