Minister of Economy Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the bill had been approved in the Dewan Rakyat and was scheduled to be brought to the Dewan Negara next week, with the hope of gaining support before being enacted. — Bernama pic Summary The Statistics Bill 2026, recently approved in the Dewan Rakyat and anticipated to be passed by the Dewan Negara, is expected to be gazetted by the end of the year, according to Minister of Economy Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir. The bill aims to replace the 1965 Statistics Act to create a more modern legal framework, enhancing the governance and independence of the country's statistical processes. A key feature includes the establishment of a National Statistics Council to oversee statistical development, along with a new data repository center to facilitate comprehensive data analysis while ensuring confidentiality. The bill is intended to modernize data usage in decision-making, marking a significant shift from traditional methods. First Published: Monday, 27 Jul 2026 3:21 PM MYT PUTRAJAYA, July 27 — The Statistics Bill 2026 is expected to be gazetted by the end of this year after completing the administrative process following its approval in Parliament, said Minister of Economy Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.He said the bill had been approved in the Dewan Rakyat and was scheduled to be brought to the Dewan Negara next week, with the hope of gaining support before being enacted.“We are targeting the end of this year... but it is an administrative process, meaning the stages that will be carried out, just like every time a bill is passed at the parliamentary level, the administrative process will follow,” he said at a press conference during the Ministry of Economy’s monthly assembly here today, when asked about the 2026 Statistics Bill.He noted that after the bill is gazetted and comes into effect, the department will be known as the Department of Statistics Malaysia.Akmal Nasrullah said the ministry would conduct a stakeholder engagement process after the bill is passed to enhance understanding of the importance of the new act.He said the department would also hold engagement sessions with various parties to ensure the implementation of the act not only involves legal aspects but also brings about cultural changes to elevate the status of the country’s statistics.Commenting on the independence of official statistics from political influence, he said the Statistics Bill 2026 strengthens governance through the establishment of the National Statistics Council, which will play a role in assessing the direction and development of the country’s statistics.He said that the production of official statistics remains guided by the objective processes used by the Department of Statistics, including the periodic implementation of censuses such as the economic census and the agricultural census.Akmal Nasrullah said the bill also emphasises the establishment of a data repository centre to coordinate data from various agencies, while ensuring the confidentiality of information.“The ownership of the data does not mean it will be transferred to the Department of Statistics. But we are more focused on producing more comprehensive and detailed findings so that the data can be used as effectively as possible,” he emphasised.Regarding access to data, he said researchers, journalists and stakeholders can submit a formal request to the chief statistician if the required information has not yet been published, subject to confidentiality requirements.Akmal Nasrullah also said that the Statistics Bill 2026 provides a foundational framework to strengthen the use of data in the decision-making process, in addition to replacing the Statistics Act that has been in force for 61 years.“This bill is intended to provide a framework that will serve as a foundation so that we have the space to move forward.“Things that might have been limitations before are now more permissible because they no longer rely on the old traditional methods, but it’s also about how we modernise the way we understand statistics,” he added.On July 16, the Dewan Rakyat approved the Statistics Bill 2026, which aims, among other things, to replace the Statistics Act 1965 (Act 415) to create a more modern, comprehensive legal framework that aligns with the current data and statistics ecosystem.The bill was passed with a majority of votes after being debated by 21 Members of Parliament from both the government and opposition blocs. — Bernama