KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya will table a new Cybercrime Bill in March 2026, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, adding that losses from online fraud surged to above RM2.9bil in 2025.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the proposed law, now in its final drafting stage, is to replace the Computer Crimes Act 1997 and strengthen the country's legal framework against both cyber-assisted and cyber-dependent offences.
Ahmad Zahid said the Bill is being prepared by the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) under the National Security Council.
"Online fraud is increasingly pervasive, resulting in losses exceeding RM2.9bil in 2025, an increase of more than 86% compared with the RM1.574bil recorded in 2024.
"The misuse of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in the modus operandi of cybercriminals, including deep fakes and other methods, has caused severe harm to victims," he said in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Feb 4).
Ahamd Zahid, who is also Rural And Regional Development Minister, said the Bill adopts a technology-neutral approach aligned with international standards, including the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime.
He added that Nacsa is coordinating broader measures to safeguard Malaysia's digital security and sovereignty, including developing secure-by-design AI cybersecurity guidelines, sovereign cloud solutions and post-quantum cryptographic preparedness, in collaboration with the Malaysian Centre for Cryptology Technology and Management.
