24th August 2026 - 4 min read
A new law being drafted to replace the Electronic Commerce Act 2006 will set out what online platforms, sellers, and shoppers are responsible for, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said on Saturday.
Armizan said the ministry moved to replace the 2006 Act because the older law only confirms that an online transaction is valid. It does not lay out who carries the legal responsibility when something goes wrong, and it does not give the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) the authority to regulate the different parts of e-commerce.
If a seller takes your payment and disappears, sends you a fake item, or leaves your refund stuck between the seller and the platform, your options often depend on the platform’s own policies. Marketplace refund windows, buyer protection schemes, and dispute forms are set by the platform, not by law, and they can differ from one app to the next.
Outside the platform, you can also turn to the Tribunal for Consumer Claims, make a police report, or lodge a complaint with KPDN. But you may still have to trace a seller who is trading under a name that has since been deleted.
The Electronic Commerce Act 2006 was introduced to give legal recognition to electronic transactions. It does not set out who is responsible for verifying sellers or what a platform must do when a buyer reports a problem. Armizan said accountability is not clearly written into the existing law, and that KPDN has neither the authority nor the legal framework to regulate the different parts of e-commerce under it.
Giving platforms and sellers clearly defined duties in law could also give KPDN clearer grounds to act on complaints, rather than leaving disputes to be handled mainly through each platform’s own processes. The contents of the bill have not been published, and it has not changed the rules for online shoppers yet. Until a new law is passed, the Electronic Commerce Act 2006 remains in force.
KPDN submitted a Cabinet Memorandum two months ago. It is now working with the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Communications Ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Digital Ministry to prepare the provisions for the drafting stage.
The bill is scheduled to be presented at the coming parliamentary sitting. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday (20 August) that the government would speed up the drafting of the e-Commerce Bill to improve how the sector is supported and regulated.
The new e-Commerce Bill has not been passed yet, so the current rules for online shopping still apply. For now, if you run into a problem with an online purchase, start by checking what help is available through the platform you used.
If the platform has a buyer protection or dispute process, you should open a dispute before the platform’s dispute window closes. Keep your chat history with the seller, and take photos of the parcel and item before throwing the packaging away. It also helps to screenshot the listing in case the seller later edits or deletes it.
If you paid by credit card, you may also be able to dispute the transaction with your bank, depending on the circumstances. Some cards may also offer purchase protection for situations such as non-delivery.
Payments made directly by DuitNow or bank transfer can be harder to recover, particularly if the money has already been moved elsewhere. If a seller asks you to pay outside the platform, it is safer to refuse and keep the transaction within the platform’s payment system.
If the seller has vanished with your money rather than simply sold you a poor product, contact your bank and the National Scam Response Centre at 997 as soon as possible. The line operates 24 hours a day. You should also make a police report.
For a dispute over a purchase rather than a scam, the Tribunal for Consumer Claims handles claims up to RM50,000 for a filing fee of RM5, and you do not need a lawyer.
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As a creative content writer, Eloise has covered finance, business, lifestyle topics, and even moonlights as a singer-songwriter outside of RinggitPlus. Her current interests are learning the best ways to optimise spending and credit card hacks to gain more airline miles.
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