KUALA LUMPUR: The government has established a special working committee and technical group to address online fraud and scam-related crimes, says Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil (pic).
He said the bodies were set up on June 18 following a Cabinet retreat that discussed the rising number of such crimes.
The first meeting of the working committee will be held soon, involving various ministries, agencies and departments.
Fahmi, who is also the government spokesperson, said the cross-agency approach is aimed at strengthening enforcement, legislation and investigations to enhance user safety on digital platforms.
“This will involve various ministries, agencies and departments. For the first time, the banking sector, telecommunications sector and major platforms, including social media companies, will also be involved.
“This is a proactive measure by the government to identify issues and address them, whether in terms of enforcement, legislation or investigations, so that Malaysians can be safer when using digital platforms,” he said at the weekly press conference at Angkasapuri yesterday.
Elaborating, Fahmi said the government expects several positive developments in the near future following the establishment of the committee, Bernama reported.
However, he said not all strategies discussed could be disclosed publicly to prevent them from falling into the hands of irresponsible parties.
“Yes, we expect several issues can be addressed in the near future. I cannot speak too openly because those watching may also include scammers,” he said.
Fahmi said the cross-agency approach had previously been used to tackle child sexual crimes and had proven effective through several special operations.
“With the establishment of this working committee, we expect stricter, faster and more comprehensive action to be taken against scammers,” he said.
