KUALA LUMPUR: The National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) is drafting a new Cybercrime Bill, which is set to be tabled during the Third Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 15th Parliament in Oct.
NACSA CEO Dr Megat Zuhairy Megat Tajuddin said that the new bill would replace the outdated Computer Crimes Act 1997, which is no longer sufficient to address modern cyber threats.
"A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed his support for the new bill in a Facebook post after chairing the second National Cyber Security Committee meeting for 2024. We initially considered revising the 1997 Act, but a new law is more relevant and less complicated," he told Bernama after participating in a Dialogue session at the International Regulatory Conference (IRC) 2025.
Megat Zuhairy also said that the new bill was crucial for Malaysia to join the Budapest Convention and the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime this June, as part of the country's commitment to tackling cybercrime both domestically and internationally.
During a separate session at the conference, he highlighted the urgent need to address the critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals.
He cited the Prime Minister's target of 25,000 cybersecurity experts by year-end and stressed the importance of retaining local talent.
"The industry should offer competitive salaries to keep Malaysian talent in the country, rather than losing them to countries like Singapore or Dubai. Without sufficient talent, we jeopardise national security," he said.
Megat Zuhairy also advocated for workplace flexibility to encourage more women to join and stay in the cybersecurity field.
The dialogue session, moderated by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) chief technical and monitoring officer Che Juhan Che Mat, was also joined by chief of strategic planning and membership at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and COO of Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) Nasution Mohamed.
The two-day conference, hosted by MCMC, brought together global industry leaders and policymakers to discuss balancing innovation with consumer protection while fostering trust and cooperation.