SHAH ALAM - With online scams costing the nation over RM1.2 billion, experts are demanding that Budget 2026 make a radical shift in enforcement strategy.
Criminologists warn that merely funding gadgets won't cut it; the government must fund a Unified Analytics Platform to enable real-time tracking, asset freezing and proactive disruption to prevent criminals from bankrupting the country one transaction at a time.
Commenting on this, criminologist R. Paneir Selvam highlighted that the “nerve centre” would serve as the backbone of Malaysia’s enforcement strategy.
He described that it would enable real-time anomaly detection, transaction blocking, suspect tracing and forensic analysis.
“It would also train and retain analysts to operate the system effectively,” he told Sinar Daily.
Paneir emphasised that such a platform would extend beyond scams, disrupting money laundering, fraud and organised crime that shared similar infrastructures.
“By amplifying the effectiveness of every investigation and enabling proactive disruption, it would reduce scam incidents before they escalated and freed up enforcement resources for other threats. This backbone could become the cornerstone of Malaysia’s modernised enforcement system,” he added.
Paneir also highlighted the importance of cross-border and regional cooperation, including funds for joint sting operations, liaison offices and participation in the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), the Anti-Phishing Group (APG) and Asean cybercrime initiatives.
He added that outdated legal frameworks must be reviewed and amended, particularly around mule accounts, identity fraud, digital evidence admissibility and cross-border freezing orders, supported by budget allocations for legislative reform.
Paneir further stated that communication platforms must also take greater responsibility, suggesting that Budget 2026 should enhance their resilience by requiring licensed operators, especially large social media and messaging services, to cooperate with takedown requests, share data responsibly and adopt anti-scam design features such as flagging suspicious content and limiting anonymous accounts.
He suggested that investments in digital identity and trust infrastructure, such as secure MyIdentity systems and stronger multi-factor authentication, could reduce impersonation fraud.
At the same time, he stressed the importance of inclusivity, proposing mobile cybercrime units and digital hubs in rural districts to improve outreach and capacity.
Looking further ahead, Paneir urged policymakers to allocate funds for scenario planning and horizon scanning to anticipate risks such as AI-driven impersonation, deepfakes, autonomous bots and quantum-era encryption threats.
“Technology investments must include lifecycle budgets for maintenance, upgrades, and retraining to avoid system decay,” he said in a statement.
He also cautioned against neglecting integrity and accountability in enforcement, emphasising that institutional culture and integrity are equally important and funds should support ethics training, internal integrity units and safeguards against surveillance abuse, adding that public trust must be cultivated through citizen engagement forums, feedback mechanisms and transparent reporting.
Meanwhile, Manipal University College Malaysia criminologist Nadiah Syariani Md Shariff also called for a data-driven approach.
She said that if there was one key funding priority that would deliver the biggest impact, it would be funding a national integrated crime and cybercrime data platform in one place.
“At the moment, crime data is compartmentalised as collection and data gathering are done separately by different bodies.
"Having all the data on a single, well-funded platform enabling real-time intelligence sharing, automated red-flag alerts, and coordinated responses would be transformative,” Nadiah said.
She further said the initiative did not only allow the gathering of data under one roof but also encouraged different enforcement bodies and agencies to respond quickly and in unison.
“If this could be implemented at the national level, the effort could also be extended to combat transnational crime,” she added.
She also stressed that attention should not be limited to enforcement alone, urging the government to invest in social priorities.
When asked about other priorities that should be highlighted in Budget 2026, she said that she would propose funding allocation for youth empowerment and well-being.
“There are various social issues troubling our youngsters in recent years, and it is a worrying trend; therefore, attention should also be given to address the issues surrounding this population.
"They are the national assets and exposed to various risks (physical and digital) that potentially lead to crime involvement and victimisation,” she said.