PUTRAJAYA: After nearly 2,000 complaints over online scams, dubious halal labels and uncertified electronics in just over a year and a half, the government is cracking down on unregulated e-commerce platforms.
The Finance Ministry and the Communications Ministry will take immediate steps to introduce regulatory measures, including registration requirements for e-commerce platforms, Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said.
He said action would be taken from today, following a directive from the Cabinet.
“The government’s intention is to ensure consumers are always protected.
“Our top priority is the consumers and buyers using these e-commerce platforms,” the Communi-cations Minister told a post-Cabinet meeting press conference yesterday.
Fahmi said the government had no intention of shutting down or restricting any e-commerce platform but wanted to ensure that all products complied with the standards and regulations.
“Electrical and electronic products must comply with Sirim (Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia) standards. Products that claim to be halal must comply with the halal standards adopted in the country,” he said.
Fahmi said the issue was raised during an e-commerce summit when a participant questioned Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about unmonitored sellers operating on e-commerce platforms.
He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had received a total of 1,964 complaints from Jan 1, 2025, until Aug 25, 2026, regarding product sales on e-commerce platforms, including scams.
“A total of 1,147 complaints were received last year, and 817 were received from this year until Aug 25,” he said.
On the planned regulatory framework, Fahmi said the Finance Ministry and the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) already had their respective registration processes, while the MCMC also had mechanisms in place.
He said the ministries would hold engagement sessions and discussions with e-commerce platform operators.
Separately, the minister said the MCMC would collaborate with the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) organisers ahead of October’s Bahrain F1 race in Sepang to ensure that telecommunications service providers can deploy equipment to boost coverage and reduce network congestion from high user volume.
“Those discussions are ongoing. We still have about six weeks before the event,” he said.
On another matter, Fahmi said he could not comment on the proposed seat allocation negotiations between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional for the Melaka election.
