KUALA LUMPUR: Over 160,000 prank calls to national emergency services were recorded as of September 2025, says Nga Kor Ming.
The Housing and Local Government Minister said prank calls made up 2.28% or 169,015 of all MERS 999 calls.
He said 221 of these calls led to firefighters being deployed only to find no emergency.
He warned the public not to misuse the system as it undermines emergency effectiveness.
“These irresponsible individuals not only hurt our national emergency effectiveness but also tarnish our brave men and women’s noble intentions,” he said on Monday (Nov 17).
He said making fake emergency calls is an offence under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and added that strict legal action will be taken against those who misuse network services.
Nga said offenders can be fined up to RM500,000, jailed up to two years, or both upon conviction.
“The message is clear: anyone who abuses the Next Generation Emergency Services with malicious intent will be brought to court,” he said.
“Don’t play play, because when our firefighters prepare to save lives only to discover a prank, it is unacceptable,” added Nga.
He urged all parties to help prevent further irresponsible incidents in the interest of public safety.
