Foreign Minister Anifah Aman wants Malaysia to consider setting up a registry of convicted paedophiles for the sake of public safety.
This echoes the call made by DAP's Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari, after Malaysian student Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin was sentenced to five years' jail by a London court for posessing, making and distributing child pornography.
"As a committed member of the international community, I think that it is high time for the government of Malaysia to consider establishing a register of convicted paedophiles that would be made publicly known so that parents and communities with young children will feel safer.
"I believe this will act as a strong deterrent against such crimes," he said in a statement.
He added that consular services do not extend to those who commit "very serious and inhumane crime".
"Under no circumstances should our Malaysians abroad imagine that the government of Malaysia would step in to save them if they commit crimes abroad.
"Do not confuse consular services and the preservation of basic human rights with a right to be saved when committing an act deemed as a very serious and inhumane crime, especially one related to children," he said.
Nur Fitri, a Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) scholar, plead guilty after police found more than 30,000 copies of child pornography on his electronic devices.
He was found next to a live size doll of a boy when police raided his home, local media reported.
Mara said the Imperial College student, described as a "math genius", has to pay back the money extended to him for his studies.
He will be deported after serving his sentence.
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