Privacy Laws in Malaysia

A friend of RWY, Foong Cheng Leong wrote a great article on his Blog about this. With his consent, we re-produce his write up here. The link to his blog is here.

Lew Cher Phow @ Lew Cha Paw & Ors v Pua Yong Yong & Anor
(Johor Bahru High Court Suit No. MT4-22-510-2007)
In this case, the Plaintiffs and the Defendants were neighbours. The High Court had dismissed an application by the Plaintiffs who applied for an order for interlocutory injunction to restrain the Defendants from installing any CCTV cameras at the Defendants’ house which faced the Plaintiffs’ house as well as also for an order to compel the Defendants to remove their CCTV cameras that were installed facing the Plaintiffs’ house.
The Plaintiffs alleged that the act of the Defendants installing the CCTV cameras had intruded their livelihood and daily activities. The Defendants on the other hand alleged that the CCTV cameras were for security reasons as their house had been intruded before and also that the CCTV cameras only showed the Plaintiffs’ house as background.
The grounds given by the High Court in dismissing the Plaintiffs’ application are, among others, as follows:
(a) there is no evidence to show that the CCTV cameras intruded the livelihood and daily activities of the Plaintiffs. Further, there is no evidence in the Plaintiffs’ affidavit to show that the CCTV cameras recorded the Plaintiffs’ activities.
(b) the Defendants are entitled to install CCTV cameras for security and safety purposes.
(c) if the interlocutory injunction is granted this will bring a legal implication to the general public especially when CCTV cameras are installed at residential and commercial premises to protect the safety of the general public.
(d) there is no right of privacy in Malaysia thus the Plaintiffs do not have the right to institute an action against invasion of privacy rights.