Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Jailani Johari said users did not need to provide the correct information when such spam emails or phone calls came.
“It would be better, when we are asked to subscribe to something, that we do not provide the right information.
“You can tell a little lie so as to prevent unwanted occurrences,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Jailani (BN-Hulu Terengganu) was responding to a supplementary question from Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (BN-Tanah Merah), who had asked whether there was any truth to allegations that telecommunication providers were selling personal data and whether any action had been taken against them.
He also asked how certain quarters were able to obtain details of users and call them to invite them for briefings with purported investment opportunities.
To this, Jailani said cyber crimes these days were committed by syndicates involved in hacking, theft of laptops or smartphones as well as spam calls and emails.
“Don’t click on questionable links,” he added.
According to Jailani, internet usage increased to 89.6% from 80% last year, with 24.5 million internet users as of 2016.
“The number of Facebook users has increased from 96.5% last year to 97.3% this year, while Instagram users rose from 46.7% to 56.1%, and Twitter from 26.5% to 26.6%.
“A study also found Malaysians use the internet for an average of four hours a day, with 15.5% of them aged under 19,” he said.
As for cases that have been prosecuted, Jailani said three cases had been prosecuted so far under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, and all had been sentenced by the courts.
The act is to regulate the processing of personal data in commercial transactions.
It applies to various major national sectors and industries which are data users, such as communications, banking and financial institutions, insurance, health, transportation, tourism and hospitality.
Under the act, any form of disclosure of personal data without the consent of data users through any platform, including the internet, is an offence.
The accused may be liable to a fine not exceeding RM500,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years, or both, upon conviction.