GDPR ≠ PDPA: Why GDPR compliance won’t pass in Malaysia and what European businesses need to do

As EuroCham Malaysia’s exclusive Legal Knowledge Partner for Malaysia, Aqran Vijandran provides weekly legal insights tailored for EuroCham members. This article was prepared in that capacity by Vishnu Vijandran (Partner).

1) Confirm PDPA actually applies to you

PDPA applies to personal data processed in respect of commercial transactions. That qualifier looks minor, yet it changes the contour of risk. For example, data collected for internal R&D prototypes may not necessarily be caught by the PDPA. HR files and customer onboarding in Kuala Lumpur, however? That clearly falls within the regime.

Steps to take now

• Map processing that happens in or from Malaysia and tag it “PDPA-in-scope” or “out-of-scope.”
• Flag edge cases (community pilots, pro-bono initiatives) that feel non-commercial but may feed the sales pipeline.

Common Pitfall: many teams skip scope and jump to notices. They circle back later and discover oddities that force rewrites. This is avoidable if you get your scope clear before you draft your notices.

2) Appoint a PDPA-compliant DPO

From 1 June 2025, controllers must appoint a DPO. The DPO Guidelines qualify this requirement, stating that a DPO need only be appointed if you process personal data of more than 20,000 data subjects, process sensitive personal data (including financial information) of more than 10,000 data subjects, or your activities require regular and systematic monitoring of personal data. Note that the DPO must reside in Malaysia (physically present at least 180 days per calendar year) or be readily contactable and proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and English, so your GDPR DPO almost always won't suffice here.

Steps to take now

• Name the DPO responsible for Malaysia (group DPO, local counsel, or hybrid).
• Document the role: responsibilities, reporting line into management, and a training plan.

3) Draft a Breach Playbook that's Malaysia-ready.

The obligation to notify the supervisory authority within 72 hours of a breach is almost muscle memory for GDPR-compliant businesses. The PDPA, however, uses a different trigger: you must notify the Commissioner as soon as practicable after a breach, and notify individuals where there’s a likelihood of significant harm. The result is that Malaysian timelines may be shorter or longer than the GDPR's 72-hour breach timeline. Hence, it is fundamentally important that you have a breach playbook in place to ensure all steps are taken as soon as practicable.

Steps to take now

• Draft a comprehensive breach playbook which plainly spells out the tasks to be performed when there's a breach.
• Include in your playbook a RACI matrix, which explains who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed in respect of particular events.

4) Rewrite privacy notices for Malaysia—two languages, specific content

The PDPA expects a written notice in Bahasa Malaysia and English. Not a link to a generic GDPR privacy policy/notice. The notice should include specific content: purposes, classes of recipients, access/correction routes, choices to limit processing, whether data is obligatory and the consequences if it isn’t, and a contact point that actually answers.

Steps to take now

• Publish a Malaysia privacy notice (Bahasa Malaysia/English) and surface it at every collection point: checkout, app sign-up, front-desk forms, candidate portals, vendor onboarding.
• For staff, include the notice in the HR pack/onboarding pack and acknowledge on day one.
• If you prefer a global notice, keep it—but add a Malaysia annex that meets the PDPA list in full and translate the said notice accordingly.

5) Re-map your lawful basis—consent is the safe default

GDPR offers six bases. The “legitimate interests” purpose often acts as a workhorse for lawful bases, often providing the basis for analytics, internal monitoring, and parts of marketing. PDPA does not provide a general “legitimate interests” ground. Instead, the lawful bases for processing data are:

1. The data subject has provided consent to the processing for the identified purposes        
2. The personal data is necessary to perform a contract with the data subject
3. The personal data is necessary to comply with a legal obligation
4. The personal data is necessary to protect the vital interests of a natural person
5. The personal data is necessary to take steps, at the request of the data subject, towards entering into a contract.
6. The personal data is necessary for the administration of justice.
7. The personal data is necessary for the exercise of any functions conferred on any person by or under any law.

You must therefore switch to consent or a narrower necessity ground. If a use-case looks strained, it probably is—analyse and document your reasoning for lawful bases carefully.

Steps to take now

• Take your top ten Malaysian activities (HR files, CCTV, cookies/SDKs, CRM analytics, service delivery, KYC). For each, pick a PDPA basis you can defend.
• Where consent is cleanest, make it explicit and recordable.
• For sensitive data (health, religious belief, political opinions, offences; commonly biometrics), obtain explicit consent unless a narrow exception applies.

6) Direct marketing: operationalise the opt-out

Under PDPA, individuals can tell you to stop using their data for direct marketing. Not just email—any advertising or marketing contact. The GDPR/e-Privacy mindset helps, but Malaysia’s right is its own switch, and the notice ought to work in Bahasa Malaysia as well.

Steps to take now

• Add a working opt-out to every channel you actually use: footer links in emails, STOP codes in SMS, “no thanks” scripts for calls.
• Keep a suppression list and ensure agencies honour it across brands.
• For bought lists, demand warranties that PDPA-compliant notices and permissions were obtained—and sample the evidence.
• Ensure all opt-outs are in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

7) Sensitive personal data: re-survey for biometrics and other data

Many businesses underestimate how wide the ambit of sensitive personal data is.  Things as basisc as face scanning at a warehouse gate or office entrance, or the processing of a visitor's Identification Card number amounts to sensitive personal data. This usually needs explicit consent unless a specific exception applies.

Steps to take now

• Inventory anything that looks like biometrics, health, religious belief, political opinions, or offence data.
• Refresh Data Protection Impact Assessments for eKYC and time-and-attendance tools; add PDPA-compliant consent text at the point of collection in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

8) Security & processors: put PDPA-level obligations in contracts (and check them)

The Security Principle expects “practical steps” to protect personal data. After the amendments, data processors also carry direct obligations. Drafting this into Data Processing Agreements ("DPAs")is the best way to ensure thorough PDPA compliance.

Steps to take now

• Update your Malaysian DPAs: concrete security measures, breach escalation “without undue delay,” cooperation with your DPO, no sub-processing without consent and flow-down.
• If a vendor says “we comply with GDPR so PDPA is covered,” treat that as a prompt to dig deeper—ask how they handle Bahasa Malaysia notices, PDPA opt-outs, and their process if a local breach occurs.

9) Rights handling: add portability and tidy access/correction

PDPA has long provided access and correction rights. With the recent amendments earlier this year, a data subject's right to data portability has come into being. It may be narrower than the GDPR version and gated by feasibility, but ignoring it would be shortsighted.

Steps to take now

• Build a simple intake form for Malaysian requests with sensible identity checks.
• Create a portability playbook: which systems are in scope, what export format is safe, and how to transmit to another controller without creating new risk.
• Publish realistic timeframes and meet them. If a fee is permissible and you intend to charge it, say so clearly.

10) Retention & disposal: stop hoarding by default

Both regimes expect you not to keep personal data longer than necessary. Legacy network drives and indefinite retention of records can quietly undermine your business's compliance.

Steps to take now

• Put concrete disposal triggers into your Malaysia schedule: X years after contract end; six months after candidate rejection; Y days after CCTV capture unless needed for an incident.
• Log destruction for the categories that matter (HR, finance, customer KYC). Simply telling the Regulator that you've deleted something isn't enough; you need to be able to prove it.

11) Train, test, and make it visible

A short Malaysia module changes behaviour: Bahasa Malaysia/English notices, consent vs necessity, direct-marketing opt-outs, section 129 transfers, breach triggers, portability. None of this is earth-shattering, but colleagues won’t guess it.

Steps to take now

• Run a 45-minute training for HR, Marketing, IT, and Customer Operations in Malaysia.
• Report to the board on two things: exposure (penalties and reputational risk) and progress (what’s actually implemented).

Common assumptions worth retiring

• “GDPR covers us here.” It covers a lot. It doesn’t cover PDPA’s consent-first tilt, the Bahasa Malaysia/English notice requirement, the marketing opt-out mechanics, or Malaysia-origin transfers. Treat those as separate workstreams that need to be audited.
• “Our global privacy notice is fine everywhere.” Not in Malaysia. Publish a bilingual notice with the PDPA content list.
• “We’ll send breach notices within 72 hours like in the EU.” PDPA uses “as soon as practicable” and a harm-based test for individual notices. Build your decision tree around the Malaysian language.
• “We don’t touch sensitive data in Malaysia.” Check for biometrics (gates, attendance), clinic reports, religious-holiday rostering, or offence notes in HR files. If any of that exists, treat it as sensitive and rethink the basis for collection.

A short, honest FAQ

Do we really need a separate Malaysian DPO if our EU DPO is excellent?
Not necessarily separate, but you do need a named person accountable for and who is ordinarily resident in Malaysia with a published contact point, or who is proficient in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

Is a Bahasa Malaysia notice necessary if our customers are mostly expats?
Yes. The rule doesn’t hinge on who your market is. The rules are statutory and must be followed.

Can we still use the GDPR Standard Contractual Clauses ("SCCs") for EU → Malaysia data transfers?
Absolutely. Just remember: SCCs don’t answer Malaysia → EU obligations. Analyse PDPA compliance analysis as well and document the section 129 basis for data transfers.

Will the regulator really care about format details like Bahasa Malaysia/English or opt-out wording?
Experience suggests yes. These are low-friction signals of seriousness.

How we can help

Getting PDPA compliance right isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. The stakes are high: penalties, reputational risk, and the day-to-day reality of handling customer and employee data in Malaysia. Appointing an internal officer is rarely enough—what matters is consistent execution, ongoing monitoring, and building trust with regulators and data subjects. That’s where professional support makes a difference. At Aqran Vijandran, we don’t stop at “bare minimum” compliance. We help clients adopt best practices that hold up under scrutiny and work smoothly in operations. Our services include:

• Complete PDPA Compliance: We take care of all your PDPA concerns, including DPO appointment, Bahasa Malaysia/English privacy notices, breach playbook, section 129 transfer register, DPA refresh, and training.
• DPO-as-a-Service (Malaysia): Ongoing advice, regulator engagement, dashboards, and quarterly drills.
• Cross-border toolkit: Clause library mapped to PDPA bases, evidence checklists, and one-page rationale sheets per route.
• Rights & portability: Intake forms, process maps, secure transmission standards, and scripts.

Contact Vishnu Vijandran at vishnu@aqranvijandran.com to get started ensuring PDPA compliance for your business.

‍This article contains only general information. It does not constitute legal advice nor an expression of legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such.