Authorities tracking crimes, tightening laws to protect kids
ONLINE child sexual exploitation is emerging as a fast-growing threat that demands urgent attention, says the Home Ministry, citing police monitoring that shows a clear rise in technology-driven offences involving children.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said police data and trend analysis point to a worrying shift, with more cases now linked to online grooming, abuse and other forms of digital exploitation.
“Through ongoing monitoring, the police have found an increasing tendency of technology-based crimes, including online child sexual exploitation, which requires special attention and immediate action,” he said in a written reply.
Responding to Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar), Saifuddin Nasution said the police continuously track developments in child sexual crimes based on police reports, investigation papers and current trend analysis.
“This helps identify crime patterns, high-risk areas, victim and offender profiles and the modus operandi used,” he added.
He said child sexual offences cover rape, sodomy, molestation, grooming and child pornography.
On the legal framework, Saifuddin Nasution said existing laws, including the Penal Code and the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, remain the main instruments for prosecution.
While current laws are considered adequate for effective investigations, he said the Home Ministry and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry are reviewing whether further legal enhancements are needed to ensure more comprehensive action against offenders while safeguarding children’s safety.
Separately, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has identified 957 cases of offensive content involving children on social media platforms from Jan 1 to Nov 30. Of these, 899 pieces of content were successfully removed by the respective social media platforms, achieving a compliance rate of 94%.
As part of its ongoing initiative to prioritise online child safety, MCMC reported that law enforcement cooperation has been stepped up aggressively through joint operations with the police, such as Ops Pedo 1.0 in Dec 2024, which led to the arrest of 13 individuals and the seizure of more than 40,000 materials related to child sexual exploitation, Bernama reported.
“Greater success was achieved with Ops Pedo 2.0 (Sept 22-30), resulting in the detention of 31 suspects across 37 locations, including cases involving teachers and foreign nationals,” it said.
In terms of public education, the Safe Internet Campaign has been actively promoted, with the latest phase reaching 8,454 educational institutions, engaging students, parents, educators and the community.
