Statistics Bill 2026 Expected to Be Gazetted by End of This Year – Minister

PUTRAJAYA: The Statistics Bill 2026 is expected to be gazetted by the end of this year after undergoing administrative processes following its approval in Parliament, said Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.

He said the Bill has been passed in the Dewan Rakyat and is scheduled to be tabled in the Dewan Negara next week, with hopes of securing support before being gazetted.

“We are targeting the end of this year … but it is an administrative process, meaning the stages that will be taken, as is the case whenever a Bill is passed at the parliamentary level, the administrative process will subsequently take place,” he said at a press conference regarding the Statistics Bill 2026 and the monthly assembly of the Economy Ministry here today.

Akmal Nasrullah said that after the Bill is gazetted and comes into force, the Department of Statistics Malaysia will be known as the Department of Statistics (Jabatan Statistik).

The Ministry will carry out engagement sessions with stakeholders after the Bill is passed to increase understanding of the importance of the new Act, he said.

He said the Department of Statistics will also hold engagement sessions with various parties to ensure that the implementation of the Act does not only involve legal aspects, but also brings about a cultural change in elevating the dignity of national statistics.

Commenting on the independence of official statistics from political influence, Akmal Nasrullah said the Statistics Bill 2026 strengthens governance through the establishment of a National Statistics Council, which will play a role in evaluating the direction and development of national statistics.

The production of official statistics remains guided by the objective processes practised by the Department of Statistics, including the implementation of periodic censuses such as the economic census and agricultural census.

Meanwhile, Akmal Nasrullah said the Bill also emphasises the establishment of a data repository centre to coordinate data from various agencies, in addition to guaranteeing the confidentiality of information.

“Ownership of the data does not mean it is transferred to the Department of Statistics. Instead, we are more inclined towards producing more comprehensive and detailed findings so that the data can be utilised as best as possible,” he said.

Regarding access to data, he said researchers, journalists and stakeholders can submit an official application to the Chief Statistician if the required information has not yet been published, subject to data confidentiality protection.

He also said that the Statistics Bill 2026 provides a basic framework to strengthen the use of data in the decision-making process, besides replacing the Statistics Act which has been in force for 61 years.

“This Bill is intended to provide a basic framework to give us room to move forward.

“Matters that may have been constraints before are now more open because it no longer relies solely on old traditional methods, but also modernises the way we understand statistics,” he said.

On July 16, the Dewan Rakyat sitting approved the Statistics Bill 2026, which among others aims to replace the Statistics Act 1965 (Act 415) to establish a more modern and comprehensive legal framework in line with the current data and statistics ecosystem.

The Bill was passed with more votes in favour after being debated by 21 Members of Parliament from both the government and opposition blocs.

BERNAMA