Privacy Policy

Pakar (“Pakar”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is an online directory that lets professionals and experts publish a profile and lets businesses discover and contact them. Pakar is operated by SAAM from Malaysia. For the purposes of the PDPA, we act as the data controller of the personal data processed through the platform.

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Profile data you choose to publish: your name, headline, biography, areas of expertise, credentials and qualifications, years of experience, company, location, rate card, availability, company logo and profile photo.
• Contact data: the email address, WhatsApp number, website and social media links you add to your profile (Pro features), which are displayed publicly by design.
• Account data: the email address and authentication credentials you use to sign up and log in.
• Technical and usage data: IP address, device and browser type, and pages viewed, collected automatically to operate, secure and improve the service.

Please provide only data you are entitled to share. If you include sensitive personal data (as defined under the PDPA, including data on health, religious beliefs or biometric data) in your profile, you consent to us processing it for the purpose of displaying your public profile.

We process your personal data to:

• create, publish and maintain your public profile;
• power search, discovery and directory features;
• operate, maintain, secure, analyse and improve the platform;
• communicate with you about your account, approvals and service updates;
• review profiles for approval and enforce our Terms of Service; and
• comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

Consistent with the PDPA’s Notice and Choice Principle, we process your data on the basis of your consent, which you give by creating a profile and submitting it, and/or where processing is necessary for the performance of our services or to comply with the law. Information you add to your public profile is intentionally visible to anyone who visits your page or finds you through search.

We do not sell your personal data. We disclose it only:

• to trusted service providers and data processors that help us run Pakar (for example, cloud hosting, database, authentication and storage providers), who are bound to process data only on our instructions and to keep it secure;
• publicly, in respect of the profile information you choose to publish;
• where required by law, regulation, court order or a lawful request by a public authority; and
• to protect the rights, safety and property of Pakar, our users or the public.

Our hosting, database and storage providers may store or process data on servers located outside Malaysia. Where we transfer personal data abroad, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives a standard of protection comparable to that required under the PDPA, including through contractual safeguards with our providers, in line with the cross-border transfer requirements introduced by the 2024 amendments.

In line with the PDPA’s Security Principle, we take practical steps to protect your personal data against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, including encryption in transit, access controls, row-level security on our database and restricted administrative access. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

In line with the PDPA’s Retention Principle, we keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this policy or as required by law. When you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we are required to retain it for legal, accounting or security purposes.

Subject to the PDPA and applicable law, you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• correct data that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date;
• withdraw your consent to our processing;
• limit the processing of your personal data, and request its deletion;
• request data portability (to receive certain data in a portable format) where technically feasible; and
• lodge a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Commissioner (Jabatan Perlindungan Data Peribadi, Malaysia).

You can exercise most of these rights directly from your dashboard by editing or unpublishing your profile, or by contacting us. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

In line with the data breach notification obligations introduced by the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024, if a personal data breach occurs that is likely to cause significant harm, we will notify the Personal Data Protection Commissioner, and affected individuals where required, without undue delay and within the timeframes prescribed by law.

We use strictly necessary cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in and to operate the service securely. We may use limited, privacy-respecting analytics to understand how the platform is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though some features may not function correctly without them.

Pakar is intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where changes are significant, take reasonable steps to notify you. Your continued use of Pakar after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

For questions, requests or complaints about this policy or your personal data (including to reach our data protection contact), please contact us via the details on our homepage.

This policy is provided for general information and, while grounded in current Malaysian law, does not constitute legal advice. Please have it reviewed by a qualified legal professional before relying on it.