With Malaysians losing billions of ringgit to online scams, Guan Eng moots IGP lead special task force in war against fraudsters

KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng today suggested Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain take firm control in Malaysia’s war against online fraud that has caused Malaysians to bleed financially for the past few years.

He proposed that the IGP should lead a special task force to bust online scams.

“Despite efforts by the police to prevent scams, action against scammers have proven ineffective with losses from scams increasing from RM 700 million in 2021 to RM 1.3 billion from 30,000 cases of online fraud last year.

“The IGP should personally lead a special task force against scammers that have cost huge losses to individual victims of more than RM 1.3 billion in 2023.

“Only the personal and direct involvement of the IGP can prevent more innocent Malaysians from falling victim to these heartless scammer criminals,” Lim said in a statement.

The former finance minister has also urged the government to hold banks responsible for the negligence or are indifferent to these fraud schemes.

“The government should also make banks that are negligent or indifferent to fraudulent schemes by scammers share responsibility for losses suffered by scam victims,” he said.

The Bagan MP also said that there should be a “shared responsibility framework” that would allocate responsibility for scam losses among financial institutions, telecommunications operators and consumers. “Under the plan, financial institutions and telcos would provide payouts to scam victims for a defined set of scams, in cases where specified anti-scam duties are breached.

“I have broached this idea with Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institution Reform) M. Kulasegaran who indicated that the necessary amendments may be tabled in the coming Parliamentary session in June-July 2024,” he said. Lim’s statement comes after news reports of national mixed doubles shuttler Lai Pei Jing losing her lifetime savings due to an investment scam that police say uses an application known as Dobevil, which supposedly enables participants to earn a commission.

Police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

In a separate statement, MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng called for government agencies to step up their coordination against scammers.

Wee pointed to Lai’s case and that of the mother to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who was cheated of RM75,000 in 15 minutes from her Tabung Haji account as examples of how frequent and dangerous online scams have become.

“MCA calls upon the authorities to enhance measures to combat these fraudulent activities.

“This includes stricter regulations, improved surveillance, and more robust cybersecurity protocols to safeguard our citizens from such devious schemes.

“We hope the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission which comes under Fahmi’s portfolio as the Communications Minister will declare an all-out war against online fraudsters,” Wee said.

He added that MCMC needs to work with Bukit Aman which comes under Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution’s watch to tackle these cyber tricksters.

“Immediately shut down any known fake online social media account or webpage once reports have been lodged with either the police or MCMC, identify the location of the scammers and where necessary, share such intel with their overseas counterparts,” he said.

MCA also called for stronger collaboration between financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, and the government to develop comprehensive strategies that can effectively counteract and prevent these frauds.

“A coordinated effort is essential to ensure the safety of our citizens' hard-earned money.

“The National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) should gear up to further fortify Malaysia’s defences against financial fraud and scams,” Wee said.