KUALA LUMPUR: The recently established National Scam Response Center (NSRC) has been provided with RM10 million to strengthen its role in combating online fraud and scams.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Minister of Finance, said that for 2022 alone, more than 25,000 crimes were recorded with losses totaling RM850 million.

“Although the government has established the NSRC, there is still no uniform policy in dealing with this issue because each banking institution issues its own guidelines.

“Bank Negara will also enforce a ‘kill switch’ policy for all banking institutions to enable users themselves to take immediate action to freeze their accounts, including ATM cards, from being used, in the event any suspicious activity is detected,” he said when tabling Budget 2023 under the Unity Government in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The budget for 2023 was initially tabled by the previous government on Oct 7 last year with a total of RM372.3 billion, but could not be debated and approved following the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, to pave the way for the 15th General Election (GE15).

Meanwhile, Anwar said people who were declared bankrupt deserved a second chance.

“As of January, more than 260,000 bankruptcy cases have been recorded which also involve our children, the majority of whom are Malays who have the potential to contribute to the national economy.

“The government will amend the Insolvency Act 1967 so that bankruptcy cases can be automatically discharged within a short time,” he said.

Anwar said while waiting for the amendment, minor cases with debts of less than RM50,000 that met the conditions would be discharged immediately from March 1, he said.

He said the government aimed to discharge 130,000 people from bankruptcy status with the passing of the amendment.