Asian Insider: Malaysia Edition helps you connect the dots on the biggest stories playing out in Malaysia every week. Sign up here to get the newsletter in your inbox.
Dear ST reader,
A survey on scams in Malaysia revealed a startling disconnect and overconfidence gap. While three in four respondents claimed that they could spot a con, some 73 per cent admitted that they had fallen victim to one, with average losses of close to RM5,000.
The usual investment scams that offer too-good-to-be-true returns topped the list. But of late, racketeers are posing as enforcement or bank officers, offering to settle some outstanding fine or debt.
Even a Singaporean businessman lost RM700,000, after believing that the fee would free 130 foreign workers who were detained during a dragnet by the Immigration Department.
The problem is now so widespread that a reported RM40 billion was stolen in 2024 from victims as young as seven.
So why are so many Malaysians falling prey to such scams? Some may say it’s naïveté, but a few experts have pointed to how these operations employ psychological cues to gain one’s trust.
It could also have something to do with how Malaysians are for the most part, sceptical of institutions, leading to a loss of faith in established systems and authorities.
For example, in the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer survey, 78 per cent of Malaysians said they trusted “someone like me” such as a peer to tell the truth about new innovations and technologies more than they trusted industry experts, NGOs, journalists and least of all, government leaders.
But we hope that you still trust ST’s coverage of Malaysia, as per a sampling of the latest news below. If you have a suggestion or feedback on stories you’d like to see our bureau in Kuala Lumpur chase down, feel free to send me a note.
Thank you for reading The Straits Times.
Three in four Malaysians fall victim to scams despite most saying they can spot one: Survey
2.7-magnitude quake hits Segamat, sixth in Johor in a week
Engineers found cracks on the walls of police quarters, two community colleges and the local hospital in Segamat.
Gas pipeline fire: Gas released could fill over half a million 14kg cooking gas cylinders
Fires from the explosion exceeded 1,000 deg C, with the flames rising more than 30m into the air.
Malaysia to tap treated sewage effluent as farm fertiliser
The project by government-owned Indah Water Konsortium is part of a major recycling effort.
Dog trapped on the rooftop of Penang apartment for a week dies
Rescuers tried to entice the dog with food like chicken but it kept bolting away in fear.
Heavy traffic expected at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints during Sept school holidays
ICA said travellers using these checkpoints from Sept 5 to Sept 15 should expect longer waiting times to clear immigration.