In order to prevent individuals from becoming victim of online scams, the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued a directive to all telcos on 14 February 2023 to block sending and receiving of short messaging service (SMS) from local, international mobile numbers and applications with the following type of content:
Containing a URL link or any clickable link e.g. shortened URL
A request for someone's personal information e.g name, IC number, bank account number
Containing a mobile and/or fixed line number
Blocking is being implemented in stages - starting from 2 May 2023 for SMS between individuals; the next and last stage is the blocking of SMS containing the above 3 elements from mobiles and applications such as Enterprise SMS service and Maxis IoT SIM from 2 July 2023. Source
What are the requirements when sending SMS to Malaysian recipients (+60)?
When sending SMSs to recipients in Malaysia, please ensure you abide by these requirements laid out by MCMC:
The Organisation's brand name must be represented in the content of each SMS sent.
All SMSs will be appended with “RM0.00 “ at the start of the content if not included by the sending organisation.
Indicate to the recipient that there is zero cost (RM - Malaysian Ringgit) to them for the SMS that they’ve received.
Organisations are required to have all SMS Content which contains URLs, whitelisted. Failure to whitelist content+URL, will result in SMS content being blocked by the respective Malaysian Mobile Network Operators.
Organisation’s SMS Content must NOT include any request for personal information or personal contact details.
Mobile Network Operators may, at their own discretion, impose penalties for each SMS that is sent with content which they find to be out of compliance with any of the above requirements.
What is the Sender ID type with which my organisation’s SMS to Malaysian recipients (+60) will be delivered?
The Sender IDs of ALL SMS sent to Malaysian numbers (+60) will be replaced with a random shortcode. Unique Shortcodes or AlphaNumeric shortcodes are not supported when sending SMS to Malaysian numbers (+60).
How is blocking of URL in content applied across each of Malaysian Operators?
Each of the Malaysian Operators apply their own algorithms and whitelisting requirements to SMS with URLs. As such, SMS delivery of content that does not abide by the requirements specified above might be experienced differently across the individual Malaysian Mobile Network Operators.