“TELCOS SHOULD NOT BE REVEALING AN INDIVIDUAL’S DATA TO ANYONE, EXCEPT TO THE MACC OR POLICE TO INVESTIGATE CERTAIN CASES,” - NAZRI

Celcom to investigate allegations

PETALING JAYA: Celcom Axiata Bhd has said it upholds very strict policies in ensuring the privacy of its subscribers and customers to make sure their information is always protected.

The telco was referring to the RM20mil suit filed by Noor Haslina Abdullah, 39, against it on Sunday for allegedly revealing the contents of her SMS exchanges and recordings of her telephone conversations with other individuals.

“Celcom is a responsible corporation and will not tolerate any irresponsible behaviour or violation of its subscribers and/or customers’ privacy, and will take any and all necessary action in this matter,” said Celcom chief corporate officer Adlan Ahmad Tajudin in a statement yesterday.

He also said that Celcom viewed the allegation seriously and would cooperate with all parties involved to investigate the matter.

“Once the investigation is complete, and if the facts suggest that the claim is without basis, Celcom will not hesitate to take all necessary action to the fullest extent available under the law including an action for libel and abuse of court process,” he said.

Yesterday, The Star had reported that Noor Haslina, the CEO of a private college in Kuala Terengganu, had filed a suit against a telco at the High Court registry in Kota Baru.

In her statement of claim, Noor Haslina said that when she arrived at her office on March 11, she received a package which contained nine A4-sized sheets of paper with information about her SMS exchanges and a pen drive that had recordings of her phone conversations.

She added that she had lodged a police report on March 14 and had sought relief from Celcom but had been ignored.

When contacted, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz said individuals were entitled to sue if their privacy had been infringed upon.

“Telcos should not be revealing an individual’s data to anyone, except to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or police to investigate certain cases,” said the minister in charge of legal matters.

“Even the MACC will still have to obtain a court order before it can proceed to retrieve any information or data.”