Malaysia to tighten e-commerce platform regulations amid complaints
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Malaysia is reportedly planning to toughen oversight of e-commerce platforms operating in the country, to include requiring them to be registered with the government.
According to a report in The Edge Malaysia on Wednesday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the move is a response to complaints from platform operators and brick-and-mortar merchants regarding issues such as safety of electronic products, halal status and fraud.
Fahmi said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) received over 1,900 complaints involving e-commerce platforms between January 1, 2025 and August 25, 2026. Of those, 817 were filed this year up to August 25.
At issue is the fact that some e-commerce platforms operating in Malaysian are registered, while others aren’t. A separate report from The Edge Malaysia this week noted that local retailers and e-commerce players have said this has resulted in an unlevel playing field where some e-commerce players face lower scrutiny on product safety compliance, halal requirements and taxes.
The complaints have been especially focused on Chinese e-commerce player Pinduoduo, which launched services in Malaysia nine months ago. Pinduoduo is growing in popularity due to offering a wide range of products at a fraction of local prices, but local players say that Pinduoduo has an unfair advantage because it doesn’t have to comply with local regulatory and tax requirements, the report said.
Fahmi didn’t name names in his statement, but said regulatory measures being proposed by the Communications Ministry and the Finance Ministry would include requiring all e-commerce platforms to comply with local product standards and tax regulations under the Inland Revenue Board, the report said.
Fahmi said the government will meet with e-commerce platforms to discuss the proposed regulations, adding that the objective is to protect consumers, not shut down any platforms down, the report said.
