Consumer Rights

Artificial Intelligence Governance in Focus: Malaysia’s National Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics vs the European Union’s AI Act

Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation adopted the National Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics. The launch of which is a key step in supporting the Malaysian National Artificial Intelligence Roadmap 2021-2025.

AIGE reinforces Malaysia’s commitment to global AI ethics inspired by guidelines from UNESCO, OECD, and the EU, to ensure trusted and responsible AI development. Following this, AIGE set out seven core principles consisting of fairness, safety, privacy, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, and the pursuit of human benefit.

RWC Webreport: Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Engagement Session on the Review of E-Commerce Legislation

On 17 July 2025, an Engagement Session on the Review of E-Commerce Legislation was held at Zenith Hotel, Putrajaya to engage relevant stakeholders on the ongoing review of Malaysia’s e-commerce laws. The session was led by YB Datuk Armizan, Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (“KPDN”), and moderated by KPDN officers. The engagement session brought together approximately 300 participants, including platform representatives, vendors, and users.

SST Expansion 2025: Highlights and Next Steps

On 9 June 2025, the Ministry of Finance issued a Press Release to announce a major expansion of its Sales and Service Tax (SST) effective 1 July 2025.

The announcement was foreshadowed in Budget 2025 (albeit without much detail) to increase government revenue and support fiscal reforms. The new structure will cover a wider range of taxable services and introduce changes to the sales tax on locally manufactured and/or imported goods.

The key to understanding the expansion is the Malaysian Government’s oft-repeated statements that the expansion aims to increase revenue without burdening the ordinary man on the street.

Duty of Care for Banks — Extended: An Update

A bank is where customers deposit their money for safekeeping. As such, a bank, since its inception has always been regarded as a guardian of its customers’ monies. It therefore is quite natural that a bank owes a duty of care towards its customers. Accordingly, in performing its duties, a bank ought to exercise reasonable care and skill as such. However, recent developments in Malaysian jurisprudence have resulted in a limitation of this duty of care to customers only.