Sarawak Kuching MP Kelvin Yii has called for a permanent joint federal-Sarawak taskforce to combat illegal online gambling. He said existing enforcement should be supported by a more coordinated structure.
The proposed taskforce would bring together the Royal Malaysia Police, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Sarawak government and local councils.
Yii proposed giving the body a permanent legal mandate under forthcoming gambling legislation. Its responsibilities would include targeting syndicate leaders, tracing and freezing illicit financial flows, revoking licenses linked to illegal operations and accelerating the blocking of gambling websites and advertisements.
Prevention and rehabilitation would also form part of its remit, including awareness programs for schools and universities, addiction counseling, debt advice and confidential reporting channels.
The proposal comes amid concerns over physical premises allegedly facilitating online gambling. Yii said some convenience stores were selling gambling top-ups, while certain coffee shops had allegedly become gathering points for gambling activity.
He urged authorities to investigate how premises associated with such activity obtained business licenses and determine whether enforcement or licensing failures had occurred.
Yii also linked the issue to wider public safety concerns, citing September incidents involving suspected explosive or flammable objects thrown at convenience stores in Kuching and Sri Aman. He said police investigations had partly connected the attacks to disputes involving gambling top-up businesses.
Between 2022 and 2025, Sarawak police made nearly 5,000 arrests and requested that MCMC block 1,477 websites linked to illegal gambling, according to figures cited by Yii.
Despite those actions, he said gambling operations continued to reappear, prompting his call for a permanent multi-agency approach rather than relying primarily on individual enforcement operations.
Perak state police recently cut electricity to 33 premises linked to illegal gambling
