Lee: Govt’s proposed federal cybercrime law timely

KUALA LUMPUR: The new federal cybercrime law being mooted by the government is timely, given the rise in such crimes nationwide, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

The Alliance for Safe Community chairman said the new law will improve upon existing laws, which could not effectively curb the current advancements in cybercrimes.

“Cybercrimes are occurring in various sectors.

“There are syndicates running various online scams, including job scams and love scams,” he said when contacted.

He was commenting on plans to introduce a new federal law focusing on cybercrime, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament in July.

Currently, scams are becoming more problematic, surpassing narcotics-related crimes, Lee lamented.

“Cybercrimes have become a global threat and have a devastating impact on society. They are among the top white-collar crimes, which resulted in about RM2.32bil in losses last year.

“The implementation of the new law is consistent with the government’s strategy and action in combatting job and love scams,” he added.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has said in Dewan Rakyat that cybercrimes are getting more complex, sophisticated and dynamic, and the elements under the existing laws are not up-to-date.

“If everything goes as planned, a new act related to the government’s efforts to deal with cybersecurity threats will be tabled in the July meeting,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan during Question Time on Thursday.

The Kota Baru MP had asked the government to state its efforts in dealing with cybersecurity threats and data leaks that could lead to activities associated with job scammers.