KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is moving to extend the reach of its child sexual offences law beyond its borders, allowing authorities to prosecute not only Malaysians but also permanent residents and individuals who ordinarily reside in the country for offences committed overseas, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the proposed amendments to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 would also broaden legal protection to cover Malaysian citizens, permanent residents and children who ordinarily reside in Malaysia, regardless of where the offence took place.
Tabling the Sexual Offences Against Children (Amendment) Bill 2026 for its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (June 29), Azalina said the amendment to Section 3 of the Act would expand its extra-territorial jurisdiction to better reflect the increasingly cross-border nature of child sexual crimes.
“At present, the Act only allows offences committed outside Malaysia to be prosecuted as if they had been committed in Malaysia if the offender is a Malaysian citizen.
“Current developments show that this scope needs to be expanded.
“The government believes legal protection should not stop simply because an offence was committed overseas or because the offender is outside Malaysia’s jurisdiction,” she told the Lower House.
Azalina said the amendment, while brief in form, would have significant legal implications by enabling enforcement action in circumstances previously not covered under existing provisions.
She said the move sent a clear message that Malaysia would not compromise on any form of child sexual exploitation.
“If you touch our children, you go,” she said.
“There will be no tolerance and no compromise for those who destroy the future of our children.”
Azalina said the government would continue strengthening international cooperation and domestic coordination through a whole-of-government approach involving enforcement agencies, prosecutors, child protection authorities, cybersecurity agencies and communications regulators to ensure effective implementation of the law.
She said the proposed amendments were necessary as the nature of child sexual crimes had changed significantly since the Act came into force in 2017, with digital platforms, social media and encrypted messaging applications creating new avenues for abuse.
Citing the Disrupting Harm Malaysia report by Unicef, Interpol and ECPAT International, she said more than 100,000 Malaysian internet users aged between 12 and 17 were estimated to have experienced online sexual exploitation or abuse within a year before the study was conducted.
She also pointed to data from the Internet Watch Foundation, which recorded 16,238 reports of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) involving Malaysian children in 2024, an increase of more than 225% from the previous year.
A further 12,656 reports were recorded in the first six months of 2025 alone, the Pengerang MP added.
According to information from the police, Azalina said offenders increasingly operate across multiple jurisdictions using encrypted platforms and false identities, making detection, investigation and evidence gathering more difficult.
“This shows that our existing legal framework must be strengthened so it is capable of responding to the realities of modern child sexual crimes,” Azalina said.
The bill is scheduled to be debated by 25 MPs across the aisle when Dewan Rakyat resumes at 2:30 pm this afternoon, and it is expected to pass before today's session ends, provided it secures a majority vote.
