KUALA LUMPUR: A high-performance digital infrastructure as well as computing and data processing centres will be developed in the country in line with the goals set out in the Malaysian Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital), says Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek.

       The Communications and Multimedia Ministry secretary-general said the development should aim to combine excess data centre capacity as well as provide data processing facilities and cloud computing capacity.

       He said this is because more and more countries and economic sectors are implementing digital transformation while data flow movement is seen to be getting faster and would continue to grow.

       “As businesses expand to new markets overseas, data flows are now far beyond the borders of a country, raising concerns about the potential risk of personal data leakage.

       “So it is important for the government to introduce certain filters or policies to ensure that data flow can be regulated to protect the country’s interests and sovereignty, and at the same time maintain secure access to data,” Mohammad said when attending the online webinar titled “Digital Age: Embracing Technology, Preserving Data Sovereignty” yesterday.

       Mohammad, reported Bernama, said that under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, there are already several policies to show the government’s commitment in preserving data sovereignty and cyberspace security, namely the National Policy Objectives in the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998; National Cyber ？？Security Policy 2006; apart from the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

       He said all these policies include a comprehensive cross-sector framework to protect personal data in commercial transactions and play an important role in helping companies address data sovereignty issues while ensuring information security, network reliability and integrity, as well as resilient infrastructure are secured.