PUTRAJAYA, JUNE 24 — The Low Altitude Economy (LAE) guidelines are expected to be announced by the end of this year, thus becoming a regulatory, operational and governance framework to support the integration of safe airspace in the economic sector.
In a press conference after opening the LAE forum here today, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the guidelines being developed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) are expected to be announced at the Transport Expo Asia (TXA) 2026.
He said LAE is a significant economic opportunity for Malaysia because the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector, and drone technology are currently growing rapidly with billions of dollars worth of investments being made by governments and industries around the world.
“Countries around the world are now actively developing their respective policies, technologies and ecosystems to seize this emerging economic opportunity.
“For Malaysia, this is not just an opportunity in the aviation sector but an opportunity to attract high-value investments, create highly skilled jobs, strengthen the local technology ecosystem and increase the country’s competitiveness at the regional and global levels,” he said.
LAE refers to economic activities and public services carried out in the low-altitude airspace ecosystem through the use of technologies such as drones, AAM, aerial logistics, infrastructure inspections, smart agriculture and emergency services.
Loke said that safety aspects are highly emphasized in the development of the LAE sector in this country because it involves the national aviation sector under the regulation of CAAM.
“This is an important aspect whose role is played by CAAM because they are the technical regulator for the aviation industry.”
“So anything that flies in our airspace must get approval from CAAM. So now we want to make sure that (the guidelines introduced) can provide space for the LAE industry to grow rapidly in our country,” he said.
Loke said that the LAE sector does exist in Malaysia, and it is now being applied in the agricultural sector, namely the use of drones for smart agriculture.
“The use of drones is becoming more common now, including by the media using drones to obtain videos, images, visuals and so on.”
“So anything that operates in airspace must have controls in place to ensure safety,” he said.
Also present were Sarawak Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin; CAAM Chairman, Datuk Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi and CAAM Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud.
— BERNAMA
![KUALA LUMPUR, JUNE 24 -- The Child Protection Code (CPC) sets out a safe, practical and responsible age verification mechanism to ensure that only eligible users are allowed to access social media platforms. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the CPC together with the Risk Reduction Code (RMC) were published by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on May 22, and came into effect on June 1 under the Online Safety Act 2025 [Act 866]. He said both codes aim to create a safer online environment, particularly to protect children from online risks and harm. "Under the CPC, licensed service providers offering social media services are required to implement an age verification mechanism, rather than identity verification, to ensure compliance with the minimum age limit set. "Users who have reached the age of 16 are allowed to register and have social media accounts, while individuals under that age are not allowed to open or have social media accounts until they reach the specified age," he said during a question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat, today. He was answering Syahredzan Johan's (PH-Bangi) original question regarding the purpose of implementing age verification for social media accounts, as well as measures to ensure access to personal data is restricted and deleted after use. Fahmi said the implementation of the mechanism should be done safely, practically and respectful of user privacy, in line with the requirements set out under the CPC. Social media service providers are also required to ensure that the process complies with laws relating to personal data protection, including the principles of data minimization, and purpose limitation by limiting data collection to information necessary for age verification purposes and disposing of it upon completion. He said the age verification mechanism should be implemented based on official documents issued by the Malaysian Government such as MyKad, passport, birth certificate or other documents recognised by the government. "To ensure that the age verification mechanism is not manipulated, age verification must be supported by official government records and not just self-declaration." "The CPC also allows the use of other documents recognised by the Malaysian Government, including equivalent records issued by competent authorities in other jurisdictions so that access to online protection can be provided equitably to all children regardless of their documentation status," he said. Fahmi said the implementation of age verification does not permanently prevent children from using social media, but rather postpones account ownership until they reach the age of 16, and have a more appropriate level of maturity to use the platform safely and responsibly. He said the approach known as the "Wait 16" initiative was introduced to protect children and families from online risks and harm. -- BERNAMA](https://minutesmy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TB_Fahmi-Fadzil-Dewan-Rakyat_BERNAMA-1024x576.webp)
