Last week, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) issued a directive to online store operators such as Shopee and TikTok Shop to include information on products sold in Bahasa Malaysia.
This is in line with the Consumer Protection (Electronic Commerce Transactions) Regulations 2024 approved in December last year under the Consumer Protection Act 1999. This enforcement was supposed to start today but has been postponed by KPDN.
After receiving negative reactions from various parties, KPDN has postponed this directive and will meet with major online store operators to discuss the issue and gather feedback. Although Lazada and Shopee have issued and enforced this directive, issues have arisen such as incorrect use of Bahasa Malaysia and automatic language translation that makes product information confusing.
Our survey since last week found errors occurring among traders from China who use the language translation system. In another case, the Honor 400 smartphone frame is listed as “Kehormatan 400”.
Failure to list information about goods sold in Bahasa Malaysia can result in a fine of RM50,000 or three years in prison if the offender is an individual. Offences by corporate entities will result in a fine of RM100,000 for the first offence.