A NEW Cybercrime Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament next month to combat a surge in online fraud and cybercrimes over the last two years, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasised the need for a new law to address the growing risks of cybercrimes and the increasingly sophisticated methods used to perpetrate them.
“Online fraud is becoming increasingly pervasive, resulting in losses exceeding RM2.9bil in 2025, an increase of more than 86% compared with RM1.574bil recorded in 2024.
“The misuse of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), by cybercriminals, including deepfakes and other methods, has caused severe harm to victims,” he said.
He noted that the proposed law will adopt a technology-neutral approach aligned with international standards, including the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime and the United Nations’ Convention on Cybercrime.
Ahmad Zahid said the Bill is currently being finalised by the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa), which comes under the purview of the National Security Council.
He said the law is intended to replace the Computer Crimes Act and will strengthen the country’s legal framework against both cyber-assisted and cyber-dependent offences.
Besides the Bill, he said Nacsa is also considering broader measures to safeguard Malaysia’s digital security and sovereignty.
This includes the development of 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.
