CYBER ISSUES:

LAWS & ENFORCEMENT

By:
Associate Prof. Dr. Nazura Abdul
Manap
Faculty of Law,
The National University of Malaysia
(UKM)
nazura@ukm.my

OVERVIEW
The government mega project of Multimedia Super Corridor
(MSC) was one of the reasons of the legislation of cyber laws
in Malaysia.
MSC Malaysia has helped revolutionise the ICT industry in
Malaysia and helped contribute to the economical
development of the country's economy. By doing so, MSC
Malaysia has helped bridge the digital gap between the
nation and its capability to conduct e-commerce.
http://www.mscmalaysia.my

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 With the implementation of MSC Malaysia, the

Government makes a commitment to MSC
Malaysia-status companies in the 10-Point Bill of
Guarantees to provide a comprehensive regulatory
framework of intellectual property protection and
cyberlaws to facilitate and assist the development of
a truly ICT and multimedia environment.

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CATEGORIES OF CYBER LAWS

Initialy in the year 1996, there were 4 statutes which
were recognised as Cyber Laws Acts, i.e:

Computer Crimes Act 1997

Digital Signature Act 1997
Telemedicine Act 1997
Copyright Act 1987

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In addition to those laws, in 1998 the
Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 was
launched.
It followed by the Electronic Commerce Act 2006,
the Electronic Government Activities Act 2007 and
the recent statute of Personal Data Protection 2010.

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COMPUTER CRIME ACT 1997

INTRODUCTION
It was approved in parliament on march 1997.
It has been enforced in 1st June 2000.
Objective:
An Act to provide for offences relating to the misuse of
computers.

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..continue
12 provisions
The elements that have to be satisfied before one
can be convicted under this law are different from
the provisions in the Penal Code ( A statute of
general application).

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The Offences
1.Obtaining unauthorised access to computer
materials S.3 CCA 97
2. Ulterior intent offence S.4 CCA 97
3. Unauthorised modification of contents S.5 CCA 97
4. Wrongful Communication S.6 CCA 97
5. Abetment & Attempt S.7.CCA 97
6. Presumption S.8.CCA 97

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THE ENFORCEMENT UNIT

Commercial Crime Investigation Department.
Computer Task Force Unit
Computer Forensic Unit

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DIGITAL SIGNATURE ACT 1997

BACKGROUND
Passed on March 1997
Enforced on 1 October 1998
The purpose:
-to regulate the use of digital signature
-to ensure the security in the electronic transaction
-to verify the digital signature via the certificate

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WHAT IS DIGITAL SIGNATURE?

Electronic signature in the form of code and being
used to verify the identity of the sender ( of a
message) or the signor of a document .

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CHART
MINISTER

CONTROLLER

LICENSED CERTIFICATION AUTHORITY

SUBSCRIBERS/USERS
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 CA must obtain licence.

Operation without licence is an offence.
The penalty is RM500 thousand or imprisonment not
more than 10 years or to both and for continuing
offence RM5000 thousand for each day the offence
continues to be committed. s.4(2) .

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THE EFFECT OF USAGE OF DIGITAL SIGNATURE

A document signed with a digital signature in accordance
with this Act shall be as legally binding as a document signed
with a handwritten signature an affixed thumb-print or any
other mark
A digital signature created in accordance with this Act shall
be deemed to be a legally binding signature
A message shall be as valid, enforceable and effective as if it
had been written on paper
Digitally signed message deemed to be original document.

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TELEMEDICINE ACT 1997

BACKGROUND

Introduced in August 1996 as Telemedicine Bill

One of the Flagships in the MSC
The Act was introduced in March 1997
The Objective:
To provide for the regulation and control of the practice of
telemedicine and for matters connected therewith..

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DEFINITION OF TELEMEDICINE
Definition of Medical Practice
Includes diagnosis, consultation, treatment and delivery
of health care.
Not includes nursing, midwifery, pharmacy and dentistry

Medical Practicing using audio, visual and data

communication.

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THE OFFENCES
Practising telemedicine without a proper qualification
as provided in the Telemedicine Act 1997 ( as local
or foreign doctor)
Implementing telemedicine procedure on a patient
without obtaining his consent.

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COPYRIGHT ACT 1987

BACKGROUND
Eventhough the Copyright Act 1987 was enacted in
1987 , which was not at the same time with the other
cyber laws, it is recognized as one of cyber laws as
it has been amended in the same year to ensure it
applicability to the cyber issues e.g Internet.
The Act which outlines the nature of copyrightable
work, scope of protections and how the protection
can be obtained.

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WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?
Property right in an incorporeal form.
Subsists in a limited period of time.
Entitlement of exclusive rights.
To prevent others from freely manipulating the
copyright works.
A bundle of rights exist in a work.

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THE OFFENCES
Infringement of copyright works.
Do or cause other person to do the exclusive rights belong
to the owner of copyright without authorization.
Import infringing articles into Malaysia
Circumventing any effective technological measure
Removal of electronic rights management

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LEGAL ACTION
Civil
Remedies in the form of damages, account of profit,
injunction and etc.

Criminal
Penalty and Imprisonment.

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COMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA

ACT 1998

BACKGROUND
Introduced in 1998 and was enforced on 1.4.1999
There are 282 sections in the statute.
It converged three industries i.e; telecommunication,
broadcasting and information technology.
Previously those three industries were governed by
different statutes.

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continue
As a result of rapid development of technology ,
those three industries are seemed to converge and
it is almost impossible to separate them.
CMA 1998 was enacted to monitor the industries
without having to draw a line on the technologies
used.

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ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ACT

2006

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BACKGROUND
6 July 2006 ~ tabled in Parliament by Minister of
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
10 July 2006 ~ passed by the members of
Parliament
1 January 2007 ~ enforced

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ECA 2006

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OBJECTIVE
An Act to provide for:
Legal recognition of electronic messages in commercial
transactions;
The use of the electronic messages to fulfill legal
requirements and;
To enable facilitate commercial transactions through the
use of electronic means and other matters connected
therewith.

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ECA 2006

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ELECTRONIC
GOVERNMENT
ACTIVITIES ACT 2007

BACKGROUND
A comprehensive legal framework for efficient and
secure electronic Government services is provided
under the Electronic Government Activities Act
(EGAA) 2007 which came into effect 1 January
2008.
The EGAA 2007 applies to agencies that are ready
to handle electronic dealings. It does not grant any
additional legal rights or change any substantive
law.

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OBJECTIVE
An Act to provide for legal recognition of electronic
messages in dealings between the Government and
the public, the use of the electronic messages to
fulfil legal requirements and to enable and facilitate
the dealings through the use of electronic means
and other matters connected therewith.

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PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT

2010

BACKGROUND
Initially introduced as the Bill of Personal Data Protection
2000 but was never passed in the parliament.
It has been re introduced in 2009 by the name of Personal
Data Protection Bill 2009.
However , it was cited as the Personal Data Protection 2010
which obtained royal assent in 2 June 2010 and published in
the gazette in 10 June 2010.
146 provisions.
Objective:
An Act to regulate the processing of personal data
in commercial transactions and to provide for
matters connected therewith and incidental
thereto

WHAT IS PERSONAL DATA?

Any information in respect of commercial transactions,
which is being processed wholly or partly by
means of equipment operating automatically in
response to instructions given for that purpose

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DATA SUBJECT RIGHTS

Right of access to personal data
Right to correct personal data
Right to prevent processing likely to cause
damage or distress
Right to prevent processing for purposes of
direct marketing

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PERSONAL DATA PRINCIPLES

(a) General Principle;
(b) the Notice and Choice Principle;
(c) the Disclosure Principle;
(d) the Security Principle;
(e) the Retention Principle;
(f) the Data Integrity Principle; and
(g) the Access Principle,

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THE OFFENCES
Compounded Offences
Offences by Body Corporate

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THE ENFORCEMENT UNIT

ROYAL MALAYSIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

COMMERCIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION
DEPARTMENT
COMPUTER FORENSIC DEPARTMENT

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MALAYSIAN COMMUNICATION AND

MULTIMEDIA COMMISSION
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
(SKMM) is entrusted with the role of promoting and regulating
the communications and multimedia industry and to enforce
the communications and multimedia laws in Malaysia. SKMM
was established on 1 November 1998 pursuant to the
provisions of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission Act 1998 (MCMCA).

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 Its primary role is to implement and promote the

Government's national policy objectives for the
communications and multimedia sector. SKMM also oversees
the new regulatory framework for the converging industries of
telecommunications, broadcasting and on-line activities, in
accordance with the national policy objectives set out in the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA), as well as
postal services and digital certifications.

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MINISTRY OF DOMESTIC TRADE AND

CONSUMERISM AND COOPERATIVE
Managing matters related to intellectual property,
covering matters of copyrights, trademarks, patents
and industrial designs.

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THANK YOU

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