KUALA LUMPUR: Telecommunication companies have reaffirmed their commitment to protecting customer data and privacy over the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) use of mobile phone data (MPD) for statistical purposes.
U Mobile Sdn Bhd said in a statement on Sunday (June 8) that customer data and privacy are its top priority, with policies and processes in place to ensure any shared data is anonymised, aggregated and fully compliant with applicable data protection laws and regulations.
"We are aware of the objectives of the initiative and are committed to working with MCMC in a manner that upholds the highest standards of data governance," it said.
It noted that at no point would personally identifiable information be shared or processed for the MPD.
Meanwhile, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) also clarified that the MPD submitted to MCMC is fully anonymised and does not contain any personally identifiable information.
Data submission is carried out under strict governance and security protocols, with full compliance to applicable company policies as well as national laws and regulatory requirements, it said in a statement.
CelcomDigi Bhd said in a statement that it continues to work intently with MCMC to support the government's initiatives without compromising the integrity of customer data.
"When required, CelcomDigi will process requested data within our own secure environments and provide a limited sample on relevant fields comprising anonymised and aggregated output to the MCMC," it said.
YTL Communications Sdn Bhd also confirmed compliance with MCMC's directive to submit mobile network usage records for the first quarter of 2025, in support of the government's recently approved mandate to use MPD for national statistics.
"In fulfilling this obligation, YTL Communications has taken rigorous steps to anonymise all data prior to submission. No personally identifiable information has been shared, and customer privacy remains our highest priority," it noted in a statement.
On June 6, MCMC said that its collection of MPD from mobile network operators does not involve accessing, processing or the disclosure of any personally identifiable information.
MCMC said MPD was used strictly for the generation of official statistics to support evidence-based policymaking in two key domains, namely the information and communications technology sector and the tourism sector. – Bernama
