Immunity from prosecution under Cyber Security Bill does not mean leeway to govt

KUALA LUMPUR: Although federal and state governments will have immunity from prosecution for failing to comply with the proposed Cyber Security Bill 2024 provisions, it does not mean leeway has been given to the powers-that-be, says Gobind Singh Deo.

The Digital Minister said both the federal and state governments would be bound by the proposed Act.

He said the government entities defined in the proposed Bill included ministries, federal agencies and state governments.

These entities could be appointed as the entity in charge of the National Critical Information Infrastructure or as a sector lead.

He said the obligations of these government entities included providing information on the country’s critical information that it possessed and handled, implementing the code of practice, conducting risk analysis and audits on cybersecurity, reporting cyber security incidents and cyber security exercises.

"Failure to fulfil these obligations is an offence under this bill. However, the federal or state governments will not be subjected to prosecution action for failing to abide by the provisions of the Bill," he said when tabling for the second reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 27).

"When it comes to the government’s administration, compliance to the provision of any written laws will always be monitored and emphasised.

"The government will take all measures to ensure that all agencies under the federal and state governments comply with the provision under this bill."

"Therefore, although the Bill exempts the federal and state governments from being prosecuted for any offences under the Bill, it does not mean that a leeway has been given to the state or federal governments in exercising the Bill’s provision," he added.

Gobind said similar provisions can be found in Australia’s Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018, and Singapore’s Cybersecurity Act 2018.

The Cyber Security Bill 2024, which aims to enhance national cybersecurity, had been tabled for the first reading in Parliament on March 25.

The Bill seeks to enhance national cybersecurity by requiring compliance to certain measures and standards.