Malaysia laying the groundwork for emerging tech – GovInsider Live Malaysia 2024

“I cannot offer every single Malaysian the chance to travel to different parts of the world.

“But I can bring the world to you if I’m able to connect you to a smart device you have in your hand no matter where you are in this country,” said Minister of Digital of Malaysia, Gobind Singh Deo, highlighting the benefits of digital transformation for citizens.

He was speaking at the third edition of GovInsider Live Malaysia, which happened on November 20, in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

During his keynote, Minister Deo said that governments play an important role in creating an ecosystem that incentivises everyone to come onboard the digitalisation journey, making the lives of citizens and public servants easier and more convenient.

Minister Deo highlighted that Jabatan Digital Negara, the lead government agency for public sector digitalisation, has been tasked to develop digital platforms and apps to streamline government services.

Beyond merely making online services available for citizens, he emphasised the need to integrate frontend service and backend systems, as well as train public service officers to manage the new processes and demands that come with digitalisation.

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Government’s role to set up enabling infrastructure

During a separate panel, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)’s Principal Assistant Secretary, Strategic Technology and Application Division, Ir. Airull Azizi bin Awang Lah, pointed to the role of governments in supporting the adoption and implementation of emerging tech.

He cited examples of governments in other countries developing a national blockchain infrastructure, as well as high-performance computing (HPC) platforms to facilitate the development and deployment of solutions.

In September, the government of India launched a technology stack called ‘Vishvasya’ to support blockchain use across the country.

The tech stack will offer ‘blockchain-as-a-service’ (BaaS) through a geographically distributed infrastructure to support blockchain-based applications across agencies.

Johor Corporation (JCORP), a state-owned investment firm based in the state of Johor, is also laying the groundwork for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud, to take flight, said Johor Corporation’s Chief Digital Officer, Yusri Mohamed, in the same panel.

Johor is poised to become the largest data centre hub in Southeast Asia.

Mohamed also pointed to the multiplier effect that comes with data centres.

These include attracting international service providers to set up operations in the country, encouraging the influx of knowledge workers, supporting local tech companies in developing apps and services, as well as improving internet connectivity and access, through stable pricing, to consumers.

Public-private partnerships for capacity building

One way for the Malaysian government to build capacities for digital transformation is by partnering with the private sector on upskilling and regulatory sandbox initiatives.

Microsoft Malaysia’s Senior Director for Public Sector, Azhar Abdullah, shared in the panel that the big tech firm worked with state-owned oil and gas company, PETRONAS, to both explore new digital revenue streams and set up a digital academy to upskill employees.

“For PETRONAS, their most valuable asset is no longer oil, but the digital information they have accumulated over the years,” he said, adding that PETRONAS moved its legacy data into a unified platform and leveraged AI to extract insights to improve business outcomes.

Given the disruptive nature of emerging tech, Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI)’s FutureTech Lead, Ts. Nora Sani, highlighted the key role played by the government-led National Technology & Innovation Sandbox to support the commercialisation of emerging tech solutions.

The sandbox is a multistakeholder collaboration, involving researchers, private sector players, and regulators.

“This year itself, we have already launched the AI sandbox and PropTech sandbox...

“We basically work with a sandbox partner that comes from the industry to provide a test-bedding facility. The government will provide the funds... [and] the MySTI certification, which is an accreditation given by the government to local tech solutions,” she explained.

According to MySTI’s website, goods and services that have received the certification will be given priority in government procurement.

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Guardrails to govern use

The government sets the baselines for people and businesses to follow, said Minister Deo, highlighting the Cybersecurity Act and the Personal Data Protection Act as “basic standards that must be met.”

“Moving ahead, the question of data sharing [will come up] this month in Parliament. The ministry is [also] very focused on infrastructure security,” he added.

MOSTI’s Ir. Airull also brought up the national guidelines on AI governance and ethics released by the government this September, which serve as voluntary guidance for industry players to implement responsible AI.

It was previously reported that the government is developing laws to regulate the use of AI among end-users and developers of AI technology.

He shared that MOSTI has launched a request for proposal (RFP) to tap on AI for decision making in key government agencies.

“We emphasise on the responsible AI principles to ensure that the [AI] system does not minimise the biases and follow all the principles that have been outlined in our roadmap,”