KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): The Ministry of Digital is looking at introducing the Digital Commission as early as the end of this year, according to Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

The minister said there is a need for a data governance framework, as Malaysia is positioning itself as a regional tech hub, attracting significant investments in data centres from global giants such as Google, Microsoft, and ByteDance.

“The question that arises is whether we have sufficient policies or legal frameworks to protect data and outline policies that will enable or encourage data use, while ensuring that security remains a priority. In this situation, I have proposed establishing a Data Commission,” Gobind said at the press conference after the collaboration agreement signing ceremony between Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) and Cybersecurity Malaysia (CSM), at My5G Portal, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), here on Monday.

Malaysia currently has a Data Commissioner under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 overseeing data protection, but there is no dedicated Data Commission with broader authority to regulate the data landscape, according to Gobind.

“What exists [currently] is a committee, and what I want to focus on is using the committee as a platform to develop [the Data Commission],” he explained.

“I will propose to the government to elevate the committee to a commission, to focus more on data aspects, which I believe is crucial moving forward,” he said.

The Digital Ministry is expected to table the Data Commission Bill as early as year-end at the next Parliament sitting, or by March 2025, added Gobind.