Last updated: July 2026

This policy is provided as a working draft to help Southbridge Alliance communicate its data practices clearly. It is not a substitute for legal advice — please have it reviewed by a qualified lawyer familiar with Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) and, if you serve users in the EU/EEA, the GDPR, before relying on it as your final published policy.

Southbridge Alliance (南桥联盟) ("Southbridge", "we", "us", or "our") is an education consultancy based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data submitted through southbridgealliance.com (the "Site"), including our enquiry, consultation-booking, and contact forms.

1. What Data We Collect

When you submit a form on the Site (for example to book a consultation or ask a question), we collect only:

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number / WeChat / WhatsApp ID
  • Country of interest and/or your own country of residence
  • Course or program of interest
  • Any message or notes you choose to include

We also automatically collect limited technical data (such as browser type and pages visited) via standard website analytics, and a language-preference cookie so the Site remembers whether you last viewed it in English or Chinese.

What we deliberately do NOT collect through website forms: passport numbers, national ID / IC copies, visa or immigration documents, financial account details, or any other sensitive identity documents. If you later become a client, this information may be collected securely through a separate, dedicated process handled directly by your assigned counselor — never through the public website form.

2. Why We Collect It

We use the information you submit to:

  • Respond to your enquiry and match you with the right counselor
  • Provide the study-abroad counseling, visa/migration, test-prep, application, or scholarship services you request
  • Send you information you've asked for (e.g. newsletter updates on visa rules or scholarship deadlines, if you opted in)
  • Improve our Site and services
  • Meet legal or regulatory obligations

Our legal basis for processing this data is your consent (given by ticking the consent checkbox when submitting a form) and, where you go on to engage us, performance of the service contract between you and Southbridge.

3. Who We Share It With

We do not sell your personal data. Submitted enquiries are stored in a secured internal record (such as a spreadsheet or CRM accessible only to Southbridge staff) so our counseling team can follow up with you. We may share limited data with:

  • Partner universities or institutions, only once you engage us and only with your knowledge, to progress an application
  • Service providers who help us operate the Site (e.g. hosting, spreadsheet/CRM, email) under confidentiality obligations
  • Government or regulatory bodies (e.g. EMGS), only where required to progress your visa or where legally obligated

4. International Data Transfers

As we serve students from Mainland China and Southeast Asia via a Kuala Lumpur office, your data is primarily processed in Malaysia. If any service provider we use stores data outside Malaysia, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives a comparable standard of protection, consistent with PDPA requirements and, for EU/EEA residents, GDPR safeguards for international transfers.

5. How Long We Keep It

If you submit an enquiry but do not become a client, we retain your data for up to 24 months from your last contact with us, so we can follow up on your enquiry, after which it is deleted or anonymised. If you become a client, we retain records for the duration of our engagement plus a period afterward as required for legal, tax, or regulatory purposes (typically up to 7 years under Malaysian record-keeping requirements). You can request earlier deletion at any time — see Section 6.

6. Your Rights

Under Malaysia's PDPA, and in line with GDPR principles for users based in the EU/EEA, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Correct inaccurate or outdated data
  • Withdraw consent and request deletion of your data at any time
  • Object to or restrict certain processing (e.g. unsubscribe from our newsletter)
  • EU/EEA residents additionally have the right to data portability and to lodge a complaint with their local supervisory authority

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@southbridgealliance.com with your name and the email/phone used in your original enquiry. We aim to respond within 21 days.

7. Cookies

The Site uses a single functional cookie (or local browser storage) to remember your language preference (English / Chinese). We do not currently use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

8. Children & Minors

Some prospective students are under 18. If you are under 18, please have a parent or legal guardian submit enquiries on your behalf or review them with you before submission.

9. Security

We restrict access to submitted data to authorised Southbridge staff and use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work to keep your data safe.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the latest revision.

11. Contact Us

Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to:

Southbridge Alliance · Level 12, Menara Southbridge, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
privacy@southbridgealliance.com  ·  +60 18-255 6895