Budget 2026, unveiled by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Oct 10, arrives at a defining moment for the nation’s digital security.
Between January and October 2024, Malaysians lost an estimated RM1.22 billion to scams, an amount that dwarfs the RM20 million allocated last year to the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC).
These losses are not mere statistics; they represent shattered livelihoods, broken trust, and the erosion of public faith in Malaysia’s digital economy.
Against this backdrop, Budget 2026’s expanded allocation of RM21.2 billion to the Home Ministry with a focus on strengthening national security, modernising enforcement, and tackling cyber threats marks a pivotal shift.
The inclusion of a new Cybercrime Bill, alongside fresh funding for digital enforcement units, signals that the government finally recognises cybercrime not just as a policing issue, but as a national integrity and economic resilience challenge.
Yet the real test lies in execution. Budget 2026’s commitments must translate into a smarter, more coordinated, and data-driven approach to fighting scams, one that balances prevention, rapid disruption, and victim recovery.
Legislation, technology, and enforcement must now converge into an ecosystem capable of protecting citizens in an increasingly digital Malaysia.
Building prevention by design
Prevention remains the most cost-effective and enduring defence against scams. While the Cybercrime Bill and new enforcement assets will empower agencies, the first line of protection begins with citizens.
We should transform public education on scams from sporadic awareness drives into a sustained national literacy effort.
Digital safety should be taught in schools, community centres, and workplaces, integrated into both curriculum and lifelong learning programmes.
Malaysia’s diverse demographic landscape demands customised outreach materials in multiple languages, content tailored for rural and senior populations, and partnerships with religious and community organisations.
Grassroots networks and NGOs, particularly those working with high-risk groups such as retirees or new digital users, should receive dedicated grants to run local cyber awareness initiatives. By empowering communities with knowledge and vigilance, Malaysia can shrink the pool of potential victims over time.
However, awareness alone is insufficient without structural safeguards in digital platforms. We must encourage or mandate financial institutions, fintech platforms, and telcos to adopt “scam-resistant” design measures.
These include pop-up warnings during risky transfers, temporary delays for large transactions, Artificial intelligence-driven pattern detection, and confirmation prompts for new payees.
These small frictions, or “speed bumps”, in the user journey that create crucial moments for reflection, potentially saving thousands from impulsive fraud transfers.
The government should provide tax incentives, innovation grants, or co-funding schemes to accelerate adoption, particularly for smaller financial platforms that lack in-house research and development (R&D) budgets.
Ultimately, prevention must be treated as digital infrastructure no less essential than cybersecurity firewalls or police patrols. Every ringgit spent on educating the public or embedding safety features in platforms prevents many more losses downstream.
Disruption through coordination, technology
While prevention addresses human behaviour, disruption targets the criminal ecosystem. The NSRC’s success in blocking RM380 million in suspicious transactions is commendable, yet the figure pales against the national scale of losses.
Budget 2026 rightly acknowledges this gap, allocating RM12 million to strengthen the NSRC, now placed directly under police management.
This restructuring can enhance speed and coordination, but Malaysia must go further by building a Unified National Analytics and Disruption Platform, a technological “nerve centre” linking banks, telcos, fintech firms, customs, police, and regulators.
This platform, powered by AI and network analysis, would detect anomalies, flag mule accounts, trace cross-border money flows, and trigger asset freezes in real time.
It should integrate blockchain forensics to track digital wallets and use predictive analytics to identify scam networks before they strike.
Crucially, the platform must feature a “kill switch” function, an automated system capable of halting high-risk transactions mid-stream when red flags are triggered.
The forthcoming Cybercrime Bill is expected to provide the legal scaffolding for this integration, clarifying the authority to share data across institutions, standardising digital evidence handling, and empowering enforcement agencies to freeze assets held overseas.
Yet, legislation must be matched by operational capacity. Budget 2026’s allocations should include funding for specialised training in cyber forensics, data analytics, and cross-border investigation. Too often, technology investments fail because agencies lack the expertise or coordination to use them effectively.
To complement these technological upgrades, Anwar announced RM1 billion for enforcement assets, including police intelligence vehicles, maritime patrol vessels, and surveillance aircraft.
While these assets primarily strengthen physical security, the integration of intelligence capabilities across land, sea, and digital domains could form a new hybrid enforcement model, one that recognises the fusion of online and real-world crime.
Victim recovery, core measure of justice
Beyond prevention and enforcement, we must redefine success in combating scams by placing victims at the centre.
Financial crime leaves deep psychological and emotional scars. Yet, victims often face a maze of reporting channels and legal processes that compound their trauma. A national anti-scam strategy must therefore include mechanisms for restitution and recovery.
The government should establish a Victim Recovery Fund, possibly financed through a mix of federal funds and levies on regulated financial institutions.
This fund would provide partial compensation while investigations are ongoing, ensuring victims are not left destitute. A one-stop online portal should also be created to streamline reporting, track case progress, and provide access to legal advice and counselling.
Budget 2026’s focus on modernising the police’s Criminal Investigation Department, including RM20 million for the D11 Division, which investigates sexual, women, and child exploitation crimes, demonstrates growing awareness that digital crime has human costs.
The division’s upgrades, such as advanced forensic systems and a new Behavioural Science Unit, should serve as a model for a similar Digital Victim Support Unit within the NSRC. Success should be measured not just by arrests or seizures, but by recovery rates, resolution times, and victim satisfaction.
Institutional incentives and accountability
No strategy will succeed if enforcement remains fragmented. Malaysia’s anti-scam response currently spans multiple agencies like the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, MCMC, National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa), and others, often operating in silos.
The government can realign these structures by tying funding to cooperation. Joint task forces could receive shared performance-based grants, and co-budget lines could require multi-agency participation.
Establishing a permanent Public Safety and Cybercrime Coordination Centre, with embedded liaisons from the police, central bank, customs, and regulators, would institutionalise collaboration.
The RM1.5 billion allocated for upgrading enforcement facilities, including police headquarters, marine complexes, and border posts, presents an opportunity to integrate cyber capabilities within these hubs.
Digital command rooms, forensic labs, and secure data-sharing networks should be standard in new infrastructure.
Accountability must be equally rigorous. Budget allocations should include sunset clauses, midterm evaluations, and independent audits.
Transparency dashboards showing funds recovered, case closure rates, and response times would enhance public confidence. Procurement of cyber tools should follow strict competitive bidding, with lifecycle budgeting to prevent waste and corruption.
Preparing for the next frontier
Scam networks today are intertwined with money laundering, illegal gambling, and organised transnational syndicates.
Budget 2026’s provisions for Nacsa, which will establish a Cybersecurity and Cryptology Development Centre, reflect foresight in reinforcing Malaysia’s digital sovereignty.
The centre should lead research in AI-driven threat detection, quantum security, and cyber forensics, while serving as a regional hub for Asean-level cooperation.
To protect the nation’s borders and digital perimeters alike, the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) has received RM45 million to strengthen operations and manpower.
This investment must also include digital surveillance integration, as many smuggling and trafficking operations now rely on cyber-enabled coordination.
Furthermore, the government should establish a contingency innovation fund - a rapid-response pool for testing emerging technologies against novel threats such as AI-generated impersonations and deepfakes.
Investing in adaptive innovation will ensure Malaysia’s cyber defences remain one step ahead of evolving criminal tactics.
A strategic path forward
Budget 2026 is not merely an accounting document; it is a reflection of Malaysia’s priorities in an era where crime no longer respects borders, institutions, or technologies.
The government’s RM21.2 billion allocation to the Home Ministry and its commitment to the Cybercrime Bill signify a shift toward holistic security - physical, digital, and psychological.
Yet the impact of these measures will depend on execution: how effectively funds are deployed, agencies are aligned, and victims are protected.
If Budget 2026 transforms these commitments into an integrated national ecosystem that is anchored on prevention by design, disruption through coordination, and recovery centred on victims, Malaysia can reclaim its digital future.
However, if implementation falters, the next billion in losses will be only a matter of time. The choice before policymakers is stark - treat scams as a persistent nuisance, or as a defining test of national integrity in the digital age. - Mkini
R PANEIR SELVAM is the principal consultant of Arunachala Research & Consultancy Sdn Bhd, a think tank specialising in strategic national and geopolitical matters.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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