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Patriot president Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji said the fact that personal data of millions of Facebook users, including Malaysians, had been stolen could be construed as “spying”, a serious offence.
He said the alarm should be sounded on infringement of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, which came into force in November 2013.
“Secretive mining of personal data of the Malaysian people, whether for business or political purposes, obviously infringes the Personal Data Protection principles, and contravenes the act.
“Furthermore the act applies to both Malaysians and foreigners. It was reported that CA has a registered office in Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
British broadcaster Channel 4 had carried an expose of the CA methods, with undercover journalists interviewing its CEO Alexander Nix who described questionable practices used to influence foreign elections. He claimed his firm helped Donald Trump win the US presidency.
Another official, Mark Turnbull, managing director of CA Political Global, told Channel 4 that his company had done electioneering work in Malaysia.
“We’ve done it in Mexico, we’ve done it in Malaysia and now we’re going to Brazil,” Turnbull said in the undercover sting by Channel 4.
Arshad said the expose had shocked Malaysians as well as people across the world.
“CA has been accused, in the US and Europe, of data mining from Facebook on millions of social network users without their consent. While a storm has been raised in the US and European countries, in Malaysia we remain in a somber mood, or even in the usual state of denial.”
Arshad said Patriot comprised of retired officers of the Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysian Police, many of whom had been involved in the military intelligence service and Special Branch.
“We are experts in psychological operations and psychological warfare, and knowledgeable about operatives in covert operation work.
“There are legal and ethical limits to such work if the data mining is for use during peacetime and against our own Malaysian people. Such illegal activities conducted by foreign companies/operatives can be construed as spying, perhaps even treasonous, and are to be harshly condemned.”
He urged Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to clarify the matter.
“Espionage is a very serious offence. The slightest hint should send our people in the intelligence service scurrying to investigate. Action must be taken against perpetrators who infringe the laws.”
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