All cyber-related laws in Malaysia are being reviewed and looked at in a holistic manner towards developing the Internet Economy in this country, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.

He said in order to create a sustainable internet economic environment, the consumers themselves must have trust in the networks.

In fact, Salleh added, the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 has been reviewed over the past 18 months with a view to improving the online environment.

"Some of the considerations made during the review is the need to develop interoperable and enabling platforms to increase the volume of digital transactions and harness data as a resource. Such platforms include payment systems, identity verification, cloud services and big data analytics.

"The review also takes into account the need to improve security and build greater trust in existing networks as more transactions will attract more risks," Salleh said in his blog today.

On the current status of the CMA 1998, Salleh said, the review had been completed and the proposed amendments would be tabled soon once the review of other relevant laws were completed.

"Initially, the amendments were supposed to be tabled a year ago, however, with other legislation being reviewed and new laws to be introduced, particularly in the area of cyber security, the amendments to the CMA 1998 were put on hold so that everything could be approached collectively," he said.

Salleh expressed his confidence that such a holistic approach as well as the proposed amendments to the CMA 1998, would facilitate a healthy online environment as well as to help promote further more digital transactions.

-- BERNAMA