January 29, 2026
Petaling Jaya – From a fake video of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim promoting dubious investment schemes to a clip of singer Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza Tardin asking for donations, fraudulent content, including deepfakes, is currently flooding the Malaysian online space.
Even His Majesty the King of Malaysia, Sultan Ibrahim, is not immune from having deepfakes created using his image.
From 2022 to last year, nearly 225,000 deepfakes, scams and fraudulent content have been removed from cyberspace following a request from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
From 2023 to 2025, online and financial fraud will cause losses of RM5.62 billion, with the highest amount recorded last year being RM2.77 billion.
The Home Office said the amount included telephone fraud, romance fraud, e-commerce crime and e-finance fraud, as well as non-existent loans and investments.
Against this worrying backdrop, the upcoming AI Governance Bill aims to form a coherent national framework to address safety measures in artificial intelligence (AI) production.
“It aims to consider the responsibilities of actors throughout the life cycle of AI systems. This includes the need to take proportionate precautions to prevent mismatches between AI systems and ethical principles that could result in harm,” Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo (pictured) said in an interview with The Star.
He said the framework also aims to support responsible innovation by setting common expectations for safe practices, strengthening public trust and supporting sustainable adoption.
“A key governance challenge is to ensure that the use of AI remains safe, reliable and in line with the public interest as systems evolve and are adopted in different sectors,” the Minister said.
Regarding cybersecurity threats and deepfakes, Govind said these generated AIs are “increasingly serious,” noting how the threat profile is changing from pure technological intrusion to trust exploitation aimed at manipulating victims into transferring funds or divulging sensitive information.
He also mentioned how the Securities Commission (SC) is warning the public that deepfake videos are being used to make fraudulent investment schemes look authentic by imitating well-known personalities and reputable companies.
“This is a clear recent example of how deepfakes are being operated as a direct fraud mechanism, rather than just misinformation or satire.
“These developments confirm why governance and ecosystem measures need to address safety and trust as prerequisites for responsible innovation.”
He said there are already existing laws and regulations to deal with the output of AI systems.
He cited the MCMC’s position that the misuse of AI, especially the digital manipulation of images to create obscene, highly offensive or harmful content, is a crime.
“Irrespective of the use of AI, fraud can also be considered a crime under Articles 415 and 420 of the Penal Code,” he added.
According to Govind, the Penal Code has also been strengthened to deal with financial fraud through Section 424.
Elaborating on the bill, he said he also believed that by providing legal clarity, predictable compliance expectations, and a trusted environment for responsible AI adoption, the ministry could attract both local investment and foreign direct investment (FDI).
“The key issue for investors is not regulation itself, but uncertainty.
“The bill aims to reduce ambiguity and lower compliance costs for businesses by establishing clear standards of governance, including accountability, transparency and risk management,” it added.
He said this will give both Malaysian and foreign companies greater confidence to invest, expand and deploy AI solutions in Malaysia.
“Ultimately, this bill shows that Malaysia is building an AI ecosystem that is not only innovation-friendly, but also has reliable, predictable and investment-ready conditions that will become increasingly important for both domestic capital formation and FDI,” he said.
