Rela denies personal data used for automatic registration of members

The People’s Volunteer Corp (Rela) has denied allegations that it used an individual’s personal data for automatic registration as a Rela member without consent.

Rela in a statement today said automatic registration was against Section 6(1) of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

“Rela is aware of the public’s concerns and will take the appropriate action to conduct an internal investigation to identify the membership registration procedures implemented before Act 752 (Malaysia Volunteers Corp Act) came into force.

“We will not compromise if any party or individual is found to have knowingly used an individual’s personal data for a specific purpose without their consent,” the statement said.

Earlier, several people had claimed that their personal details were used to automatically register them as Rela volunteers. They also said their details were in Rela’s database.

Rela said those who are registered as members but who wish to terminate their membership can call 03-8870 3770 and email [email protected].

It also said that the department had been in the midst of a “whitening programme” to terminate members who had been inactive for a period of five years.

However, it said the programme, carried out under Section 9 of the act, was temporarily suspended as Rela was focusing on the fight against Covid-19.

Members who are interested in extending their memberships can do so by notifying the Rela director-general in writing, it said.