PETALING JAYA: The proposed e-commerce law must strike a balance between protecting consumers and safeguarding traders in the country’s fast-growing digital marketplace, say economists.
Geoffrey Williams said while protection for e-commerce users is vital to ensure confidence in the digital market ecosystem, there should be mechanisms to safeguard both users and traders in terms of transactions, cybersecurity, personal data protection as well as product and service quality.
“However, there must be a full evaluation of the best approach to avoid killing e-commerce with over-regulation,” he said when contacted yesterday.
On Saturday, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry held an engagement session to review the proposed e-commerce legislation with representatives from the digital platforms, traders’ associations, consumer protection organisations, legal experts and academics, among others.
Based on the ministry’s data, online transactions remained the highest category of complaints between 2023 and 2024, involving the sale of counterfeit goods, misleading advertisements, use of false identities by sellers, and difficulties in dealing with overseas suppliers, particularly regarding product returns and refunds.
The ministry proposed drafting an e-commerce law anchored on three main pillars – clearer industry responsibilities, more effective enforcement, and comprehensive protection for consumers and small traders.
Williams warned that regulating overseas suppliers could be challenging unless the products were sold through local platforms.
“In the end, user awareness of risks and exposing fake sites and bad suppliers must also be increased to provide market regulation faster than regulatory agencies.
“The Malaysia Digital Economy Corp is developing and promoting a standards system for e-commerce through the economy platform and this can be an important part of the mix in tackling the problem,” he added.
Another economist, Assoc Prof Dr Aimi Zulhazmi Abdul Rashid, said the recently announced 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) underlined Artificial Intelligence as a key focus in the five-year plan.
“In fact, the Malaysia Digital Economic Blueprint launched earlier embeds a delivery-driven governance framework and a whole-of-nation approach involving partnerships between the rakyat, businesses and the government,” he said.
The growth of e-commerce transactions, he added, has been exponential since the pandemic, with new ways of doing business across the supply chain introduced and accepted as part of a new lifestyle.
“Cross-border trade on microscales, including digital banking and digital insurance, introduces borderless boundaries, creating huge difficulties for the authorities in law enforcement,” he added.
Aimi Zulhazmi said scammers, fraudulent products, services and investments were among the most common crimes reported, with numbers growing rapidly and putting tremendous pressure on the authorities.
“The proposed e-commerce law by the government is certainly a step in the right direction and must be supported if Malaysia aspires to achieve the 13MP targets.
“The legislation, once approved, can continue to be improved over the years,” he said, adding that the drafting of the law must include all relevant parties.”
