MELAKA: ASEAN ministers have prioritised combating cybercrime following alarming financial losses across the region.
Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Awang Alik Jeman highlighted Singapore’s RM500 million losses to online scams within a single year.
Member states agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation through enhanced intelligence sharing and cross-border collaboration.
The 19th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime addressed 24 agendas including drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Twelve minister-level heads of delegation attended the meeting chaired by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The meeting endorsed the ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime covering 2026 to 2035.
Six key declarations were approved for tabling at the upcoming ASEAN Leaders’ Summit.
Presentations were received from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and technology company META.
Bilateral meetings with Vietnam and the ASEAN Secretariat focused on strengthening regional policy coordination.
The meetings form part of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2025 under the theme ‘Inclusion and Sustainability’. – Bernama
