{"id":6806,"date":"2026-02-13T10:53:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/wptest\/?p=6806"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:06:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:06:01","slug":"malaysia-suffers-combined-losses-of-rm10-billionannually-to-illegal-cigarettes-despite-stronger-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/2026\/02\/13\/malaysia-suffers-combined-losses-of-rm10-billionannually-to-illegal-cigarettes-despite-stronger-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia Suffers Combined Losses of RM10 Billion Annually to Illegal Cigarettes Despite Stronger Enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>KUALA LUMPUR, 13 February 2026 \u2013 The illicit cigarette trade continues to cost Malaysia<br>an estimated RM10 billion annually, comprising approximately RM5 billion in uncollected tax<br>revenue and a further RM5 billion in ongoing public expenditure to fund enforcement efforts<br>to combat this persistent problem, said Advokasi Perusahaan dan Industri (API) today.<br>API, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting the growth of businesses and industries,<br>was responding to recent remarks by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who<br>observed that RM15.5 billion recovered through enforcement actions over the past two years<br>may not fully reflect the true scale of public fund leakages, despite sustained enforcement<br>efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dato\u2019 Fazli Nordin, Managing Director of Advokasi Perusahaan dan Industri, said that<br>the Prime Minister\u2019s observation was accurate and highlighted a deeper structural issue.<br>\u201cRecovery figures demonstrate strong enforcement capability. However, they reflect what is<br>intercepted, not necessarily the full fiscal exposure created by illicit trade,\u201d he said.<br>According to Dato\u2019 Fazli, illicit cigarette consumption alone results in approximately RM5<br>billion in lost tax revenue each year, while legitimate manufacturers, distributors and retailers<br>continue to face unfair competition from untaxed and unregulated products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn addition, federal allocations to the Ministry of Home Affairs amounted to RM19 billion in<br>2024 and RM19.5 billion in 2025. We estimate that, out of these allocations, approximately<br>RM5 billion is spent each year to equip and train enforcement agents as well as to carry out<br>counter-trafficking activities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are basically throwing good money after a bad problem year in and year out. Spending<br>RM5 billion if not more to recover RM5 billion doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"448\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/wptest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/News-Release-Malaysia-Suffers-Combined-Losses-of-RM10-Billion-Annually-to-Illegal-Cigarettes-Despite-Stronger-Enforcement-shamsher-amaniemedia-com-Amanieholdings-Mail-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6807\" srcset=\"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/News-Release-Malaysia-Suffers-Combined-Losses-of-RM10-Billion-Annually-to-Illegal-Cigarettes-Despite-Stronger-Enforcement-shamsher-amaniemedia-com-Amanieholdings-Mail-1.png 448w, https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/News-Release-Malaysia-Suffers-Combined-Losses-of-RM10-Billion-Annually-to-Illegal-Cigarettes-Despite-Stronger-Enforcement-shamsher-amaniemedia-com-Amanieholdings-Mail-1-300x243.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 448px) 100vw, 448px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond fiscal losses, illicit trade creates an uneven playing field for compliant businesses that fulfil their tax and regulatory obligations. It weakens market integrity, distorts pricing structures and undermines confidence in the operating environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that the issue extends beyond border smuggling alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt involves adaptive supply chains, weaknesses in import controls and sustained retail availability. As long as illicit products remain significantly cheaper and widely accessible, enforcement alone will face inherent limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>API acknowledged the vital role played by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and other enforcement agencies in safeguarding national revenue and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEnforcement agencies deserve recognition for their efforts. However, long-term success must ultimately be measured by whether illicit market activity is meaningfully reduced over time, not merely by the value of seizures recorded,\u201d Dato\u2019 Fazli added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>API reiterated its call for a more demand-focused strategy to tackle illicit trade, stressing that enforcement alone cannot resolve a market imbalance driven by persistent price gaps.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Addressing the structural drivers of illicit consumption, including pricing distortions, supply chain vulnerabilities and consumer incentives, is critical to restoring fair competition, protecting compliant businesses and strengthening long-term economic competitiveness.<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KUALA LUMPUR, 13 February 2026 \u2013 The illicit cigarette trade continues to cost Malaysiaan estimated RM10 billion annually, comprising approximately RM5 billion in uncollected taxrevenue and a further RM5 billion in ongoing public expenditure to fund enforcement effortsto combat this persistent problem, said Advokasi Perusahaan dan Industri (API) today.API, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,23,36],"tags":[162,163],"class_list":["post-6806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-lifestyle","category-opinion","tag-cigarettes","tag-tobacco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6806"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6810,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6806\/revisions\/6810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}