PN demands insurance firm come clean over Insan data use

Gombak Setia assemblyman Hilman Idham today demanded an explanation from insurance company AmGeneral Insurance on the leakage of his personal data and that of millions of Selangor residents registered under the Skim Insurans Hayat Selangor (Insan).

Hilman, from Perikatan Nasional, said the situation was concerning as people were registered for the insurance scheme without their consent.

"This is an issue of the people's sovereignty and the state; we do not want any company to have the freedom to sell personal data to other companies or to enemies of the state," he said at a media briefing today.

Along with several activists, including Badrul Hisham Shaharin, Hilman submitted a memorandum to the management of AmGeneral Insurance in Brickfields today.

Hilman had previously questioned the state government's stake in Wavpay Fintech Sdn Bhd at a state legislative assembly session.

He said that at the time, the state government had no control over the company's ownership data despite investing RM10 million to purchase a portion of the company's shares, adding that he never enrolled in the scheme but already possessed an insurance certificate.

"The Financial Services Act (FSA) clearly states that insurance is valid only when a policy is issued.

"If it is indeed a policy, I want the insurance company to explain how they registered my name without my consent," he said.

The memorandum, among other things, alleges that AmGeneral Insurance and Takaful Ikhlas have committed offences under the FSA by obtaining people's data illegally, including the names of individuals who have passed away, to enrol their names in insurance policies.

Insan became shrouded in controversy when several social media influencers revealed that their names had been registered for the programme without their consent.

Questions also arose about the status of Wavpay Fintech Sdn Bhd, which was previously reported to be a licensed money lending company.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, however, said it was merely a pre-registration process and that policyholders needed to provide their consent for the policy.