S’pore, Malaysia sign MOU to prevent and combat transnational crimes
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The MOU was signed by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam (right) and his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, at Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE – Singapore and Malaysia on Nov 14 signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) to deepen cooperation to prevent and combat transnational crimes.
The partnership was signed by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, at Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The signing took place as part of Mr Saifuddin’s official visit to Singapore from Nov 13 to 14.
Singapore’s MHA said in a statement on Nov 16: “The MOU attests to the longstanding ties between the Home Team departments and law enforcement agencies in Malaysia, with both sides cooperating in information sharing, training and capacity building, and mutual assistance on a range of security issues.”
Under the agreement, Singapore and Malaysia will enhance cooperation in combating transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime and scams, including cyber-enabled scams.
A joint working committee between both countries’ home affairs ministries will also be established to identify and develop activities, policies or programmes to be conducted under the MOU framework, the statement added.
This comes as both countries have seen a surge in crime cases, especially those related to scams.
Scam numbers hit record highs
If the trend continues, scam losses could exceed $770 million by the end of 2024.
The Straits Times reported on Nov 14 an emerging trend where foreigners are being sent to Singapore by syndicates
The authorities have warned retailers about syndicates that are believed to have stolen the credit card details of victims here through a series of online phishing scams.
In Malaysia, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said in August that RM3.18 billion (S$950.3 million) was lost to online scams between 2021 and April 2024.
