We are honoured to be invited by the Dean of the Law Faculty of Univeristy of Malaya, Professor Abu Bakar Munir, to attend one of his public letcures, entitled “Data Protection Law: Too Little, Too Late?” on 4 August 2009.

Professor Abu Bakar Munir & Eddie Law

Below is the power point slide presentation used by Prof Abu Bakar Munir during the lecture:

Synopsis of Lecture

After a long wait of more than a decade, on 17 June 2009, the Deputy Minister of the Information, Communication and Culture announced in Parliament that the Personal Data Protection Bill is to be presented for the first reading in October 2009. The Deputy Minister stated, “We are determined to get it done this year. This Act is vital in protecting our privacy and to safeguard personal information”. This law affects almost every individual and organization, public or private, as data is the ‘bread and butter’ of an organization. The law also gives certain rights to individuals whose data are collected. This talk provides an overview of the international data protection instruments. It discusses the approaches adopted by the different jurisdictions in protecting personal data. In conclusion, it elaborates on the salient features of a data protection law and its effects and impact on an organization.

Speaker’s Profile

Abu Bakar Munir is an internationally renowned scholar, expert and consultant on ICT Law and data protection. He is a Professor of Law and the former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya. He is the author of several books; Privatisation (1992), Cyberlaw: Policies and Challenges (1999), Privacy and Data Protection (2002), Internet Banking: Law and Practice (2004) and Information, Communication and Technology Law (2009) (in print). He has published articles widely on ICT Law, Air and Space Law and Nanotechnology Law. He speaks extensively at conferences around the globe including those organized by universities such as the Oxford, Cambridge and MIT.

Professor Abu Bakar Munir has been widely consulted by governments and private entities around the world. He was seconded as the IT Law Adviser and Principal Consultant to the Government of Dubai, UEA where he led an international team of consultants in developing and drafting several IT legislation to facilitate the Dubai Internet City, a multi-billion dollar IT project. He is currently the Adviser to the Government of Malaysia on data protection. Since 2007, he has been actively involved and instrumental in developing and drafting the above-mentioned Bill. He is also an Adviser to the Government of Indonesia and has recently completed drafting the Personal Data Protection Bill for the Republic.

He is a member of the United Nations ICT Policy and Internet Governance Working Group and a Council Member of the Asia Pacific Privacy Charter Council (APPCC). He is also an Expert to the Amicus Legal Consultants Ltd. London and an ICT Law Consultant to Dr. Colin Ong Legal Services, Brunei Darussalam. He is affiliated to many other organizations and is also a Visiting Professor at several universities, nationally and internationally.