16/04/2026

THURSDAY | APR 16, 2026

5

Malaysia risks falling behind in cyber defence

Court sets June 10

for Rosmah’s jewellery case decision KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed June 10 to deliver its decision in the US$14.57 million (RM57.5 million) civil suit filed by Lebanon-based jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor over the alleged loss of more than 40 pieces of jewellery. Judge Quay Chew Soon set the date after proceedings concluded with testimony from Chong Tong Leong, the sixth witness for the third parties, namely the Inspector-General of Police and the Malaysian Government. “The court has fixed May 13 for the filing of written submissions, with replies due on May 28. The decision will be delivered on June 10 at 9am via Zoom,” he said. Earlier, Chong, 53, told the court he carried out renovation works at a Pavilion Residences condominium unit between March and May 2018 after being engaged by the unit owner, identified as Nadziff. He said on May 14, 2018, between 11am and noon, he returned to the double-storey unit ahead of air conditioning installation and found several large suitcases in a ground-floor room that were not there previously. “After seeing that, I left the unit and contacted Nadziff, who instructed me to temporarily stop renovation works. I later returned the access card and keys after completing the job,” he said. Chong said the renovation works – valued at about RM10,000 – involved general repairs, including air conditioning installation, and were carried out with one local worker and five Myanmar workers from 9am to 6pm daily, in line with building management rules. He added that the project was paused for two weeks in early May 2018 while awaiting the arrival of air-conditioning units. “I was the only person with access to the unit, and I was always present with the workers during renovation works until the end of each day,” he said. On Tuesday, former Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh told the court that bags of cash and jewellery were found spilling onto the floor during a police raid on the condominium unit on May 17, 2018. The three-day hearing, which began on Monday, also heard testimony from Global Royalty managing director Samer Hassib Halimeh as the sole plaintiff’s witness, followed by Rosmah as the defendant, and six witnesses for the third parties, including senior police officers. On March 29, 2023, Global Royalty filed the suit, alleging that Rosmah had falsely claimed 44 pieces of jewellery, including diamond necklaces, bracelets and tiaras, sent to her by the company’s agent had been seized by Malaysian authorities under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. The company further claimed that only one of the 44 pieces was retained by police, while the remaining 43 were not in their custody, and alleged that responsibility was later shifted to the Malaysian Government over the missing items. – Bernama

o Experts urge faster shift from conventional systems as digital threats reshape modern warfare

ill-suited to cyber warfare scenarios. “Malaysia’s laws are stronger on post incident response rather than anticipating cross-border, state-linked hybrid campaigns that blur the line between war, espionage and disinformation,” he said. He added that the current framework remains largely inward-looking and does not adequately address coordinated responses to transnational, AI-driven campaigns, including attacks on civilian infrastructure and social cohesion seen in conflicts such as Iran-Israel. “There is still fragmentation between cybersecurity regulation, data protection and online safety laws, despite the likelihood that future conflicts will combine technical attacks with information warfare and deepfake-driven manipulation,” he said. Mahyuddin also pointed to gaps in the protection of critical private digital infrastructure and weaknesses in coordination across regulatory domains. While Malaysia is developing an AI governance framework, he said stronger safeguards are needed, particularly for high-risk systems. “High-risk AI systems used in defence and cybersecurity should undergo mandatory risk and impact assessments, with clear human-in the-loop requirements,” he said. He added that Malaysia still lacks a coherent legal architecture to address AI-driven, state linked cyber operations, despite existing criminal provisions covering cyber offences. Mahyuddin outlined five key reforms that should be prioritised: fully operationalising the Cyber Security Act 2024 framework, modernising the Computer Crimes Act 1997, introducing a dedicated AI governance law, integrating cyber-related regulations into a unified digital resilience strategy and strengthening regional cooperation on cyber norms and incident response.

Ű BY HARITH KAMAL newsdesk@thesundaily.com

industrial base to accelerate technological advancement. On cyber threats, Mohamad Faisol said Malaysia must continuously reassess whether its systems are evolving in step with emerging risks, especially as much of the nation’s critical infrastructure is now digitised. “The question is whether these systems and equipment move in line with the advancement of current threats,” he said, stressing the need to strengthen system effectiveness against cyber risks and update defence doctrine accordingly. He added that Malaysia should draw lessons from ongoing global conflicts, where technology has fundamentally altered the nature of warfare. “The Iran-Israel conflict, the India-Pakistan conflict, as well as the Ukraine war should serve as benchmarks for Malaysia,” he said. Recent conflicts, he added, have demonstrated how so-called “third world” technologies can challenge more advanced military systems, reshaping long-held assumptions. “The success of the Iranian and Pakistani armies in using ‘third world’ technology against ‘first world’ systems shows that the dominance of developed countries is no longer absolute,” he said. Meanwhile, International Islamic University Malaysia’s Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws senior lecturer and cyber law expert Associate Professor Dr Mahyuddin Daud said while Malaysia has made progress with the Cyber Security Act 2024, significant gaps remain in addressing modern hybrid threats. He warned that the country’s broader legal framework still relies heavily on outdated laws

PETALING JAYA: The battlefield is no longer defined by tanks and troops alone. It is increasingly shaped by algorithms, cyber strikes and unseen digital threats, with analysts warning Malaysia risks falling behind if it does not urgently strengthen its technological defences. As geopolitical tensions deepen, experts say digital infrastructure is now as critical as conventional military power and Putrajaya must move faster to bolster its cyber, legal and defence capabilities. Universiti Utara Malaysia defence and geopolitical analyst Associate Professor Dr Mohamad Faisol Keling said the country must recognise that modern defence is rapidly shifting away from traditional systems. “Malaysia’s defence development is still focused on conventional systems and equipment compared to high-tech. “Although Malaysia began paying attention to high-tech and electronic advancements in the early 2000s, these efforts need to be strengthened,” he said. He added that while Malaysia has established strengths in electronics and semiconductors, its defence industry has yet to fully capitalise on these advantages in developing AI-driven capabilities. “The production of the national defence industry still revolves around conventional equipment such as light armoured vehicles, while Malaysia is known for semiconductors,” he said, adding that the country should leverage its

Over 200,000 migrants return under repatriation programme PUTRAJAYA: About 229,000 foreign nationals have registered under the Migrant Repatriation Programme 2.0, with more than 204,000 already returning home as Malaysia’s voluntary return exercise gains momentum ahead of its deadline. Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said a total of 228,961 foreign nationals had registered for the programme, which has so far generated RM114.59 million in revenue for the government. He said Indonesians formed the largest group, followed by Bangladeshis.

Zakaria said participation typically begins slowly before surging as the deadline approaches, often causing congestion at Immigration offices nationwide due to limited daily processing capacity. “This programme moves in phases. At the beginning, the response is rather slow. But as it gets closer to the end, the numbers increase sharply,” he said at the Ops Serkap press conference at the Immigration Department headquarters yesterday. “That is why you now see immigration offices full of foreign nationals who want to join the programme, but we have a daily limit on how many we can process.” He said the department has applied for an extension to the programme, but no decision has been made. Any announcement would be made by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in due course. The programme, which began on May 19 last year, is scheduled to run until April 30 in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. It allows undocumented migrants, including overstayers and those without valid passes, to leave Malaysia voluntarily through immigration without

Zakaria (third from left) showcasing the forged documents. – ADAM AMIR HAMZAH/THESUN facing prosecution during enforcement operations. Meanwhile, Zakaria said Immigration has crippled a document falsification syndicate believed to have generated more than RM100 million over more than seven years following coordinated raids under Ops Serkap on April 13 and 14 at six locations. The operation was launched after six months of intelligence gathering based on public information and media reports.

three Indian men, one Bangladeshi man, one local man and one Vietnamese woman, who is a permanent resident. The local man and the Vietnamese woman are believed to be company owners and directors linked to the syndicate. The main suspect has been identified as Mahendra Jung Shah, also known as“MJ”, a 43-year old Nepalese national and valid expatriate pass holder. He said the syndicate’s modus operandi involved processing foreign workers for certain parties using falsified long-term immigration passes, making them appear legally employed. – by Faiz Ruzman

Authorities seized 111 passports of various nationalities, 10 laptops, six mobile phones and RM3,950 in cash, while nine individuals aged between 26 and 61 were detained. Those arrested include three Nepalese men,