JAKARTA: Asean can work towards building a comprehensive regulatory framework to increase trust on intra-Asean data sharing between stakeholders, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (pic).
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said while enabling the reuse of public intent data may be a complex process, what stakeholders can consider is to further enable the reuse of private intent data via regulations across Asean.
“In terms of private intent data, about 50 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) use Facebook to find customers; 70% of their fans are domestic and 30% are from outside the country.
“Enhancing data flow will reduce transaction costs, promote sharing of ideas and enable users to make use of new findings and technologies,” he said in his speech at the Asean Business and Investment Summit 2023 yesterday.
Sharing his personal experiences during his time as group chief executive officer of the CIMB Group, he said the group had successfully enabled cross-border linking of accounts between CIMB Malaysia and CIMB Singapore.
“This has facilitated services such as providing competitive MYR-SGD exchange rates for immediate, online fund transfers.
“This is a direct example of how regulatory harmonisation between two countries has built trust on sharing private intent data for cross-border banking transactions,” said Tengku Zafrul.
“The second example is the easing of the payment system for transactions.
“On this front, we must commend the banking regulators and central banks that have cooperated well in harmonising the regulations in this space.
“Today, payment transactions between Asean countries are much easier, and now even cross-border QR codes are accepted,” added the minister.
Regionally, he said that multilateral arrangements to facilitate cross-border data flows include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) provisions on ecommerce, as well as the Asean e-Commerce Agreement.
“Improved coherence in data-related policies will create more trust and boost ecommerce within the region, as well as between Asean and other international markets,” he said.
In ensuring the implementation of next-level Good Regulatory Practices (GRP) in Malaysia, the government had launched the National Policy on Good Regulatory Practice (NPGRP) in 2021, with improvements after the GRP was first introduced in 2013.
“The gatekeeper for this policy is the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), an agency under my ministry,” said Tengku Zafrul.
Unlock 30% Savings on Ad-Free Access Now!
