The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has initiated a review of existing e-commerce laws and is actively proposing a suitable regulatory mechanism to safeguard the welfare of both industry players and consumers.
Fuziah Salleh, the deputy minister, has identified the relevant laws as the Electronic Commerce Act 2006, the Consumer Protection Act 1999, and the Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations 2012.
Fuziah emphasised that KPDN is collaborating with e-commerce platform providers, industry stakeholders, consumer associations, and experts to streamline these laws further, according to Bernama.
At present, there is no legislation governing products on e-commerce platforms, and there is also no requirement for vendors on these platforms to ensure the availability of the goods they offer.
She also pointed out that service providers lack the ability to take action against sellers in case issues arise.
Fuziah highlighted that consumers are currently facing various challenges due to the rapid growth of the e-commerce sector.
These challenges include non-delivery or inadequate fulfilment of online purchases, non-compliance with product safety standards, and unethical utilisation of “dark patterns” by online traders to deceive consumers.
She said that KPDN has experienced a notable surge in complaints, particularly those related to online transactions.
As of 31 August this year, a total of 10,377 complaints had been registered, and a significant portion of these complaints, amounting to 35%, were linked to online transactions.
Additionally, grievances have been lodged concerning online merchants who sell essential commodities like rice, sugar, and packaged cooking oil at prices that exceed the regulated control prices. This issue has also drawn significant attention and concern.
Regarding the source of complaints, Fuziah revealed that the e-commerce platform Shopee has received the highest number of complaints, followed by Facebook and Instagram.
