KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says nearly 70% of parents in Asean are unaware of the digital risks their children face.
He said the challenge spans borders and is present in homes, schools and communities.
Speaking at the opening of the 2025 Asean ICT Forum on Child Protection on Tuesday (Nov 18), Zahid outlined three strategic priorities for protecting children in the digital sphere.
He said Malaysia calls for an Asean Child Protection Information Exchange Network, which would enable faster alerts, shared data and coordinated cross border responses to online threats.
Zahid said Malaysia proposes a Shared Digital Forensics Protocol to speed up investigations and harmonise evidence sharing.
He added it would prevent offenders exploiting jurisdictional loopholes, and added that Malaysia recommends an Asean Digital Guardianship Curriculum as a unified module for schools.
He said it would build digital resilience, ethical awareness and online safety skills from an early age.
Zahid launched the National Children’s Action Plan 2026–2030 focusing on online safety and digital literacy.
He said the policy addresses violence, neglect, exploitation, mental health, the digital divide and online risks.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said children are active digital citizens.
She said safeguarding them grows more urgent as technology evolves, and added Asean countries must work together to build safer regional digital ecosystems.
Nancy said the National Children’s Action Plan reflects Malaysia’s commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She said it contains 141 actions under 16 strategic priorities to safeguard children’s rights and wellbeing.
The 2025 Asean ICT Forum on Child Online Protection brought together 294 participants from across Asean and partner organisations.
It includes government agencies, civil society, technology industry players and international partners such as Unicef, the Asean Secretariat and the Government of Australia.
The two-day forum ends on Wednesday (Nov 19).
It reaffirms Malaysia’s leadership in regional cooperation to safeguard children’s rights online.
