Comments flood the economy minister's social media platforms on his handling of criticism over the government database.

The economy minister responds to the Sarawak government's criticism of the new database hub he has been promoting.

Fahmi Fadzil says his ministry is looking at possible immediate solutions to the issue.

Police say a full investigation will be carried out, although Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin has denied the claims.

The order arrives days after China's Personal Information Protection Law, a sweeping ordinance dictating online privacy practices, went into full effect.

Data included names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers and residency permit information for non-Swiss nationals, among others.

State-run and private companies handling personal information will now be required to reduce data collection and obtain user consent.

It says automatic registration is against Section 6(1) of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.

The data included phone numbers, birth dates, and email addresses according to media reports, although Facebook says it did not include passwords or financial details.

Much of the information collected by companies is not even necessary for the running of its business, but many customers give it up without a second thought.

Some 580,000 Singapore Airlines customers have had data compromised by a leak from an external air transport IT company.