KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said supports the Police proposal for heavier penalties, including caning, for online scammers.
She said, however, efforts to curb online scams should not focus solely on harsher punishment, with financial institutions also needing to play their part and take greater responsibility.
"I have seen the police’s proposal to introduce caning, and I can agree with going beyond caning for scam-related offences.
"I have said many times in and outside Parliament that one strategy is for banks receiving scam proceeds to also take responsibility," she told reporters after officiating the 2026 Political Funding Convention at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) here on Tuesday (Sept 8).
Azalina said it was unfair for banks to place the full burden of losses caused by scams on customers on the grounds that their accounts had been misused by others.
"It cannot be that when someone uses a victim's bank account, the bank simply says, 'It's at your own risk'. In that case, people might as well keep their money under their mattresses.
"Bank Negara Malaysia has issued numerous public service announcements, and the police have repeatedly warned the public, yet people continue to fall victim to scams," she said.
Azalina said the government must assess whether harsher penalties would genuinely reduce scam cases or whether a mechanism imposing shared responsibility on banks would be more effective in tackling the crime.
She said greater accountability for banks could encourage financial institutions to strengthen their monitoring and security systems to prevent suspicious transactions.
On Monday (Sept 7), media reported that Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail said the police had proposed amendments to outdated laws and significantly tougher penalties, including caning, for online scammers.
Mohd Khalid said the penalties currently imposed by the courts were too lenient to deter masterminds and members of scam syndicates. – Bernama
