Members of the public were shocked on 14 June when some netizens claimed that they had been registered as RELA members unknowingly.
Twitter user @Midori_nochill was scrolling through her timeline when she came across a tweet of someone who was reportedly unknowingly registered to be a RELA member. Feeling curious, she then checked her IC number and saw that she was also allegedly registered without her consent. According to the records, she has been a RELA member for the past 11 years.
Reading the timeline about individual being registered in RELA without their knowledge. I tried checking mine & lo and behold. I am a RELA officer since 2011. So selama ni elaun RELA sis pergi mana? Ni apa 10 tahun elaun tak berbayar ni? Btw, siapa sis nak jumpa nak amek uniform? pic.twitter.com/SvA9Fx0CQd
— Oodie (@Midori_nochill) June 14, 2021
A quick check on the website shows that they have closed the checking feature for “maintenance purposes”.
RELA issued a statement at 10.30am on 15 June.
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??? ????? ???????? ??????????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????????? ???????? (????)
?? ??? ???? pic.twitter.com/EZrAAegNh5— RELA Malaysia (@relamalaysia) June 15, 2021
In the statement, they said that they are aware of the issue and they will be launching an internal investigation. They also stated that they will not compromise towards any party or individual who purposely processes or use one’s personal data for a certain aim without getting the person’s consent prior to registration.
“RELA wants to emphasise that the accusation using a person’s private data to be registered as a RELA member automatically without receiving permission from the individual is not true. This act goes against what is said in Section 6 (1) of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.”
Other than that, RELA said that they are now ‘whiting out’ members who have not been active for the past five years. However, the ‘whiting out’ process has been halted as RELA is committed to helping fight Covid-19.
If any members wish to continue their membership, they can write to the Director of RELA. Those who have been registered as RELA members but do not want to continue their membership can call 03-8870 3770 and email ym.vog.ahom@aler_orp.
This is certainly concerning as the people were registered without consent! What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.
