KUALA LUMPUR: Drone owners, both commercial and recreational, will soon have to register with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
Failure to do so could see them fined up to RM50,000, or jailed for up to three years, or both.
Corporate bodies are liable for a maximum fine of RM100,000.
"Even now, registration is required, but compliance is low due to the high number of drones," CAAM chief executive officer Captain Datuk Norazman Mahmud told the New Straits Times.
He said drone owners would have to register on CAAM's Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UAS TM), which will be set up by the third quarter of next year.
"By then, when you buy a drone, you will have to register before flying it.
"Drone operators will need to request permission via a mobile app before flying their drones.
"If the drone meets all requirements and is in an unrestricted area, approval will be granted instantly."
The UAS TM is aimed at managing the increasing number of drones in the country's airspace more efficiently.
Presently, the air traffic management system caters to civil aviation, regular aircraft and drones.
But with the number of drone owners rising, drones need to be managed better.
He said the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim) data indicates there were 155,995 drone operators in the country.
"Imagine the infrastructure needed to oversee 155,995 drone owners."
Under the UAS TM, drone registration and flight approval processes will be automated through a four-stage process: U1, U2, U3, and U4.
"In U1, when you buy a drone, you register it with your name in the system. U2 will address the flight approval process. U3 are advanced services supporting more complex operations in dense areas, such as assistance for conflict detection and automated detect-and-avoid functionality," said Norazman.
U4 involves integration with manned aviation and supports high levels of autonomy and connectivity.
The UAS TM will ensure drones do not encroach on designated areas for air traffic and restricted airspaces.
"The operation of the UAS TM will involve multiple agencies, including the Chief Government Security Office, the Survey and Mapping Department and Sirim," Norazman said.
"However, for more complex commercial operations, such as pipeline monitoring or agricultural tasks, additional oversight and certification will be required."
He added that around 80 per cent of drone use was recreational, and the remaining 20 per cent covered surveillance and transport.