The Malaysian government is looking to introduce a new federal cybercrime law, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail during today’s Dewan Rakyat meeting. He revealed that cyber-based felonies are getting more complex, sophisticated and dynamic, whereas the elements under the existing laws are not up to date.
“If everything goes as planned, a new Act will be tabled in the July sitting related to the government’s efforts to deal with cyber security threats,” the minister said in a reply to Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan. In his query, the PN-Kota Baru representative asked the government to state its efforts to deal with cyber security threats and data leaks, which can lead to other illegal activities such as job scams.
Saifuddin added that the government is also considering forming a single entity body from several existing agencies to deal with cybercrime. He believes that this will make it easier for authorities to get experts who are proficient on the subject matter.
“If we use from the existing channel, from the normal public employment scheme and from the regular ranks, it will not be interesting as we need specific expertise on the subject,” the minister elaborated. “And the government realised that the current structure is not enough so we are moving towards that.” He also hopes that the proposed new law would receive the backing from both sides of the political divide.
On the subject of job scams, it is revealed that there were a total of 339 Malaysian citizens who had fallen victim to these shams in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and even Dubai. Saifuddin said that a total of 218 individuals have been rescued while 121 more are still stranded, but assured that both the Home Ministry and Wisma Putra are working together to bring all victims back home. “As we speak, a team of police are in Thailand on a mission to rescue the victims there,” he added.
(Source: The Star)
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