JOHOR BAHRU: The government is to introduce new legislation to curb cyber crimes, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said the draft of the bill was sent to Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali yesterday.
The bill would be tabled at the next sitting of Parliament after it had been scrutinised by the Attorney General’s Chambers, he said to reporters.
Ahmad Zahid said it was important that the legislation be enforced strictly in combating all sorts of cyber crime, including the recruitment of terrorists and sourcing of funds for terrorism, money laundering and online gambling.
He was asked to comment on the government’s efforts to deal with the estimated 10,000 complaints related to cyber security received every year.
Ahmad Zahid said the new legislation would ensure that the interests and well-being of the people were taken care of and all information pertaining to online transactions were not undermined.
With the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) as the only agency to coordinate the efforts of all agencies handling cyber security threats, monitoring could be implemented at all times and every complaint could be acted upon through legal means, he said.
The NCSA came into force on Feb 1 under the National Security Council (NSC) and applies existing laws including the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Defamation Act 1957 and the Sedition Act 1948 to fight cyber security threats. – Bernama