: J-KOM) (previously called Special Affairs Department (Malay: Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas, Abbr.

[2] In 1960 BHEK was upgraded and renamed as the Cawangan Hal Ehwal Khas (CHEK) (Special Affairs Branch) under the purview of Jabatan Perkhidmatan Penerangan (Federal Government's Information Services).

The government Cabinet meeting in March 2000 approved the formation of a new 'Department of Special Affairs' (Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas, abbreviated JHEK) to be upgraded from CHEK.

[4] The JASA's controversial functions were questioned and has been alleged as an inefficient government agency, amounting to more than a thousand employees and a huge expenditure of RM74 million.

However, after the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition took back control of the government during the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis, JASA was re-established in 2020, having been rebranded as the Community Communications Department (J-KOM).