TLDR: Malaysia’s Digital Minister, Gobind Singh Deo, announced on October 8, 2025, that the government is actively drafting a new law to ensure the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence. This legislation aims to establish a robust, risk-based regulatory framework, enhance AI governance, and protect national cybersecurity amidst growing threats from ‘weaponized AI’ scams.
KUALA LUMPUR, October 8, 2025 – Malaysia is moving decisively to establish a comprehensive legal framework for artificial intelligence, with Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo confirming today that a new AI law is currently being drafted. The initiative underscores the government’s commitment to fostering responsible AI use, strengthening governance, and safeguarding the nation’s digital landscape.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Minister Gobind emphasized that this proposed legislation will adopt a risk-based approach, imposing stricter oversight on AI technologies deemed ‘high-risk.’ These high-risk systems are defined as those with the potential to compromise fundamental human rights, national security, or information integrity. The law will meticulously define and categorize AI-related harms, introduce mandatory incident reporting requirements, and guide remediation efforts to mitigate adverse impacts.
“Such an approach safeguards the nation’s cybersecurity while maintaining public and investor confidence in Malaysia’s digital agenda,” Gobind stated. The drafting process involves extensive consultations with various ministries, government agencies, industry representatives, and academic experts, ensuring a well-rounded and effective regulatory framework. The goal is to strike a crucial balance between security needs and digital innovation, aligning with efforts to bolster confidence among citizens and investors in the national digital agenda.
This legislative push complements the existing Artificial Intelligence Governance and Ethics Guidelines, which are built upon seven core principles, including fairness, safety, transparency, and human well-being. The urgency for such a law is heightened by the escalating threat of ‘weaponized AI’ scams. CyberSecurity Malaysia has recorded numerous incidents, including deepfake scams used for sexual extortion, sophisticated identity impersonation, and syndicates leveraging AI to craft highly convincing messages, calls, and voice mimicry to defraud individuals.
Furthermore, AI is being exploited to process and exploit leaked personal data from cyberattacks, making it easier for malicious actors to target individuals. To counter these evolving threats, the government has already enforced the Cyber Security Act 2024, designed to protect National Critical Information Infrastructure. The Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024 has also been strengthened with the introduction of mandatory data breach reporting.
In a broader legislative effort, the government is also drafting the Cybercrime Bill, which will replace the outdated Computer Crimes Act 1997. This new bill is slated to become the principal legislation against cybercrime under the purview of the National Cyber Security Agency. A cross-ministerial and enforcement agencies mechanism has been established to coordinate efforts against weaponized AI threats, involving the Ministry of Digital, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Communications, CyberSecurity Malaysia, National Cyber Security Agency, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and the Royal Malaysia Police.
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Minister Gobind highlighted the importance of this coordinated approach, stating, “It is necessary for these ministries to collaborate so that when an issue arises, we have a unit that can provide clear directives on the required actions. This enables us to promptly detect problems and implement measures.” An initial draft of the AI governance framework is expected to be presented to the Cabinet by mid-next year, following the ongoing engagement process.
