Individuals can file suit for the Insan programme case - Lawyer

SHAH ALAM - Individuals facing defamation due to personal data leaks, after registering with the Selangor General Insurance Protection Scheme (Insan) can take legal actions through a suit as it is measured as a form of loss.

Advocate and solicitor Asiah Abd Jalil said in terms of law, loss does not refer to loss of property and money alone.

She explained the losses could involve reputation, pride, good name, position and public views towards an individual.

“If you want to file a civil suit in court, there must be a cause of action. Cause of action would only exist if there’s a loss. No loss, no cause of action.

“I can give two examples for individuals suffering major losses in the Insan case due to being registered without their knowledge and agreement.

“They were slandered with several accusations and bad names because they were supposedly the individuals insured in Insan by the Selangor State Government,” she said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

The post had her uploading a screenshot of the issue brought up by Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters doubting the status of social media influencer ‘YB Viral’ and ‘DD Chronicle’ who registered as beneficiaries under the PH Insan scheme.

Both individuals were referred to as victims of defamation as the registration under the insurance scheme was not to their knowledge.

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari denied the usage of personal data of Selangor residents without their knowledge.

He explained those who pre-registered with the sche,e must confirm the matter with a selfie and identity card and related steps to confirm registrations.

Selangor police on Thursday confirmed eight police reports were received on the matter, the cases were classified as Refer to Other Agency (ROA).

The reports were referred to the Personal Data Protection Department (JPDP) which was an agency under the Communications and Digital Ministry.