The Dewan Rakyat passed the Statistics Bill 2026 on July 16 by majority voice vote after a debate involving 20 to 21 MPs, marking an end to the 61-year-old Statistics Act 1965. The new legislation sets a modern legal framework for Malaysia’s national statistical system [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The Bill contains 22 clauses that define the roles of the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), establish a National Statistics Council, and detail procedures for data collection, publication, and confidentiality protections. It formally repeals the outdated 1965 Act [2, 5].
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, who tabled the Bill, said, "Good data must lead to more accurate policies, more effective public services, and tangible benefits for the people" [2]. He added that the Bill "strengthens Malaysia’s capacity to produce coordinated, high-quality and trusted official statistics" [5] and noted the need for "a more comprehensive and flexible legal framework to ensure official statistics can be produced more efficiently, timely, and responsively" [3].
The new legislation aims to provide accurate, consistent, standardised, and comparable statistics across social, economic, and environmental sectors [1, 3, 4]. It expands data sources beyond censuses and surveys to include administrative, geospatial, and emerging data types, requiring a flexible approach to official statistics [1, 3, 4].
Under the Bill, ministries and agencies keep authority over their administrative data and sectoral statistics. However, DOSM will coordinate nationwide statistical production. The National Statistics Council will oversee integrated strategic development of the system [1, 2, 5].
The Bill aligns Malaysia’s framework with United Nations recommendations and international best practices concerning official statistics and confidentiality principles [1, 2]. Data protection is strengthened to prevent disclosure except as allowed by law [1, 5].
The drafting process for the Bill began in 2016 and involved seven policy review sessions with ministries, state governments, academia, and private sector representatives, totaling 510 participants [1, 2].
The passage of the Statistics Bill 2026 marks the start of implementation under this updated legal framework to improve evidence-based policymaking, public service delivery, national planning, and data governance [2, 5].
