Kota Sentosa State Legislative Assemblyman Wilfred Yap has called on the Federal Government to urgently reform Malaysia\u2019s laws to address the alarming rise in scam cases that continue to dominate daily news headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said frequent reports of retirees losing their life savings, families falling into debt and small business owners being financially ruined show that scams are no longer isolated incidents but a serious and escalating national crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a state assemblyman, I am deeply concerned by the sheer frequency and scale of scam cases reported in the media. Despite repeated warnings and enforcement actions, losses continue to rise, showing that our current legal framework is not keeping pace with modern scam syndicates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yap noted that scammers are mainly charged under Sections 417 and 420 of the Penal Code, which were designed to address traditional fraud and are increasingly inadequate against sophisticated, technology driven scams that operate across digital platforms and borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that while the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, particularly Section 233, is used to act against scam messages on WhatsApp, SMS and social media, the penalties do not reflect the severe financial devastation suffered by victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Anti Money Laundering, Anti Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 is important for tracing and seizing illegal proceeds, but it is largely reactive. In many cases, action only begins after funds have already been transferred or moved overseas, when it is often too late,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Yap, this explains why many victims are told that recovery is unlikely even when they report cases promptly, as existing laws tend to respond only after the damage has been done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed to Singapore\u2019s Protection from Scams Act as an example of a stronger preventive approach, including firm action against mule account holders who face severe penalties, swift asset forfeiture and restitution orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMalaysia\u2019s experience shows that mule accounts remain a weak link. Penalties are inconsistent, deterrence is insufficient and syndicates continue to exploit this loophole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yap stressed that scams are not minor crimes, as they destroy livelihoods, undermine confidence in the digital economy and erode public trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe daily headlines should be a wake up call. Malaysia must move beyond outdated and fragmented legal tools,\u201d he said, urging the government to introduce dedicated anti scam legislation, grant enforcement agencies pre emptive powers to halt suspicious transactions, impose tougher penalties on mule account holders and strengthen real time cooperation between banks, telecommunications companies and law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProtecting Malaysians from scams is not optional. It is a responsibility and the time to act is now,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kota Sentosa State Legislative Assemblyman Wilfred Yap has called on the Federal Government to urgently reform Malaysia\u2019s laws to address the alarming rise in scam cases that continue to dominate daily news headlines. He said frequent reports of retirees losing their life savings, families falling into debt and small business owners being financially ruined show that scams are no longer isolated incidents but a serious and escalating national crisis. \u201cAs a state assemblyman, I am deeply concerned by the sheer frequency and scale of scam cases reported in the media.Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34529"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34531,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34529\/revisions\/34531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}