He said the recent 26th departmental review of the joint Malaysia-Thailand working committee on criminal activities had brought the police forces closer.

Discussions during the meeting revolved around terrorism, smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime and sea piracy, Shuhaily added.

He said while these discussions typically revolved around “traditional” crimes, the issue of cybercrime had now taken centre stage.

“There’s no way we can stand alone (on this issue). It’s almost impossible as cybercrime has no borders.”

Shuhaily said jurisdiction was the biggest barrier in combating cybercrime issues.

“Let’s say the perpetrators are in Malaysia scamming people in Thailand. The Thai police can’t act on Malaysian soil and vice versa.

“As such, having this kind of close relationship is always good and helps us in our work.”

In May this year, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission chairman Salim Fateh Din said there had been “escalating abuse” of online platforms, telecommunications networks and online facilities for scams and malicious cyber activities.

The National Scam Response Centre had received 11,858 scam complaints this year as of April 2023, with the police commercial crime division reporting losses of RM1.2 billion between 2021 and April 2023.