CYBERJAYA – Malaysia’s use of anonymised mobile phone data for policymaking is grounded in internationally recognised best practices — and collects far less information than what global tech companies already have, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Commissioner Derek Fernandez.
Defending the Mobile Phone Data (MPD) programme amid public concern, Fernandez stressed that the government is not interested in personal information, and that the system is designed to ensure no individual identity is ever tracked or exposed.
“A lot of detailed data has already been given to Google and Facebook — they already know it. They already have that kind of data,” he said.
“But the government is only interested in statistics based on certain standards. There is no personal data being disclosed. That’s the conclusion.”
Fernandez who also chairs MCMC's Online Harms and Information Security Committee, said the MPD programme, which is mostly utilised by the Statistics Department, is aligned with international standards and helps improve policymaking by providing accurate, up-to-date population mobility insights.
“Mobile phone data plays a role in statistics and economic planning. This isn’t just a conclusion made by the Malaysian government. It is a conclusion made by the United Nations and the International Telecommunications Union, which say this data is important in the digital age for countries to plan effectively.”
He also said MCMC facilitates the data flow between mobile network operators and DOSM, and that clear instructions are given to ensure that no identifying information is shared.
“The letters we sent to the mobile network operators clearly stated — please anonymise the data, please pseudonymise the data.”
“The data we request does not include names, addresses, IC numbers or phone numbers — not at all. It’s general data only.”
Fernandez gave an example of how such data helps understand movement trends without requiring physical surveys.
“If I want to know how many people like going to Taman Jaya on a Friday, there are a few ways — I could sit there and count, or I could use mobile phone usage. In fact, there are more mobile phones than people in Malaysia. So we look at the location data, the latitude and longitude (of the closest tower), to estimate how many people were there.”
When contacted, Fernandez also clarified that the MCMC does not seek the longitude and latitude of individual mobile devices, but rather the location of the base stations to which the devices are connected.
“So we don’t have granular data on the exact location of the device — only the cell tower it is connected to,” he said.
During the briefing, he said this method is more efficient than traditional surveys and allows the government to monitor changes in real time.
“If the Department of Statistics wants to find out how many people visited Batu Caves on a Monday, they shouldn’t have to wait two years to do a census. That’s not current, and it’s not efficient.”
Fernandez also addressed recent concerns raised following foreign media coverage of the MPD programme, which led to many Malaysians feeling "afraid" and "concerned"
However, he clarified that MCMC has no interest in collecting any form of personally identifiable information.
“The most important thing is that we tell them (the telcos) not to send us personal identification. We don’t want to accept it. That’s the best way. I don’t want any data that identifies a person — phone number, IC number — please don’t give me this. We tell the MNOs, please don’t give me this.”
The MPD programme, approved by Cabinet in April 2023, is aimed at modernising data collection methods and enhancing the country’s data-driven decision-making across various sectors such as tourism, economy, and infrastructure development.
Also present at the media briefing were Department of Statistics Malaysia’s National Big Data Analytics Centre (NBDAC) Senior Director Jamaliah Jaafar and MCMC Deputy Chief Executive Officer Datuk Zurkarnain Mohd Yasin. - June 9, 2025
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