JOHOR BARU: The Communications Ministry will hold discussions with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry to address the growing issue of concert ticket scalping at inflated prices, says Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
She said the latter ministry is currently reviewing the matter, including the possibility of introducing a Bill to tackle the matter.
“The Communications Ministry has also engaged with event organisers and ticketing companies to find the most suitable solution to this issue,” she told a press conference at the Johor leg of the Madani MSME Digital Grant Festival 2025 in Permas Jaya here yesterday.
Teo said the problem is most common at high-profile international concerts, such as that of South Korean superstar G-Dragon, where soaring demand allows scalpers to resell tickets at heavily marked-up prices, reported Bernama.
Last Friday, Teo chaired a meet ing with representatives from the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to address the growing concern of ticket scalping, which is hurting the country’s entertainment industry.
She said the session gathered input and proposals from agencies directly involved in monitoring and enforcing concert ticket sales, while also looking at examples from countries with anti-scalping laws.
On a separate matter, Teo said MCMC removed 2,033 advertisements related to products and services not authorised by the Health Ministry and other agencies from the start of this year until Aug 1.
She said the move followed 2,283 complaints received during the period, with the removal of such ads having been carried out since 2022.
“In 2022, MCMC received eight complaints and removed all related ads. In 2023, 439 complaints were received and 390 ads were removed.
“In 2024, MCMC received 3,312 complaints and took down 1,643 unauthorised online ads.”
Teo said her ministry constantly works with the Health Ministry on false medicine or health service advertisements, as the latter has the expertise to identify such cases.
“When we receive a complaint from (them), MCMC will notify social media platform providers to take down the advertisement if it is unauthorised.
“However, if a complaint is received from the public, for example one involving fake medicines, we will refer it to the Health Ministry for verification before further action is taken.”
