What you need to know about regulatory compliance

Many of us are not very familiar with regulatory compliance. But fear not! In this week’s Spotlight article, we have Selva, who will be shedding some light on his experiences in the field.

Selva is a regulatory affairs consultant to all companies in the Potato Productions group. He has been helping the companies comply with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act and other applicable regulations, both locally and in foreign contexts.

He has a whopping 25 years of experience in regulatory policy and compliance work in Singapore and Australia in privacy, data protection, intellectual property, marine safety, waste reduction, radiation protection and nuclear safety. He has also led and participated in international regulatory reviews in Europe and Asia!

Read on to find out more about him and his working experiences.

1. Tell us a little about yourself!

I started my working life as a naval officer in the Singapore Navy.  After 10 years in the Navy, I became a journalist in the Singapore Business Times. When I moved to Australia in 1994 I was a journalist for a while but spent about 23 years in regulatory policy and compliance roles in the Australian government.

2. Share with us the story of how you joined Potato Productions.

A breakfast meeting in 2018 in a coffee shop in Singapore with my old friend and Potato Productions founder Lee Han Shih led to my current role in the Group.

3. What is the most important thing in privacy and data protection?

Respect others’ privacy rights, seek consent unless you don’t have to, and do everything you reasonably can to protect the personal data that you possess or control.

4. Do you think enough attention is paid to privacy issues? Why so?

I think SMEs are not paying enough attention to privacy and data protection issues due mainly to a lack of resources. But some also ignore it thinking, “I am too small to suffer a data breach” or “it won’t happen to me.”

5. What are three words you would use to describe your current job?

Simple but challenging.

6. What is a common misconception about your job?

That Selva knows everything about privacy and data protection. We are all learning. The enforcement decisions published by Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission, reports by overseas privacy authorities, and court decisions are great learning resources for continuous improvement.

7. What is the best piece of advice you have received?

On decision making – “Decide, knowingly if you can, ignorantly if you must, but decide.”

8. What is one aspect about Potato Productions which makes it unique?

The staff’s enthusiasm to be creative, to do good and have fun.

9. If you could possess a superpower, what would it be?

To create unlimited amounts of food to eradicate poverty.

To find out more about Selva and ODTAA, click here.