Online Scam Committee Findings Heading To Cabinet Soon - Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Findings from a series of discussions by a special working committee tackling online scams will be presented to the Cabinet soon, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said.

He said a Cabinet note was being prepared to outline several key decisions reached following the committee’s engagements.

“The working committee has held a series of discussions, and I will submit a Cabinet note soon to inform the Cabinet of several decisions,” he told reporters after officiating M360 ASEAN 2026 here today.

Fahmi described the committee as unique as it brings together commercial banks, telecommunications companies and digital platform providers, including TikTok, for the first time in a coordinated effort to combat online scams.

He said discussions also examined potential gaps in existing laws and ways to strengthen strategic cooperation among enforcement agencies involved in investigating scam cases.

The cross-agency cooperation involves the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Royal Malaysia Police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department.

The working committee and a special technical group were previously established to coordinate efforts by the government, regulators, enforcement agencies, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and digital platforms in tackling online scams.

Earlier in his opening speech, Fahmi noted that four major operations targeting the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) since December 2024 had resulted in 117 arrests across 162 locations.

A total of over 1.47 million digital files were recovered during the crackdown, of which 204,934 were confirmed to be child sexual abuse material.

To curb such crimes, he said Malaysia is bolstering its digital safety framework through the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), the Child Protection Code and the Risk Mitigation Code. 

These frameworks impose clear responsibilities on platform providers, encompassing child safety-by-design, age verification, proactive risk assessments, stringent content governance and responsive reporting mechanisms.

M360 ASEAN 2026, organised by the GSMA on Sept 9 and 10, brings together ministers, regulators and industry leaders to discuss digital trust, artificial intelligence, resilient infrastructure and regional digital integration.

The event, held for the first time in the ASEAN region and in Malaysia, is endorsed by the Ministry of Communications, with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as host partner.

-- BERNAMA