Nuraini Muhammad Naim, Head of Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Malaysia

​​​​​​1. How do you use your role to ensure that technology and policy are truly inclusive?

I come into digital discussions as a medical doctor trained in policy, not as a technologist. My experience in public service, especially in roles without formal authority, taught me how systems feel to people who don’t have power. That perspective shapes how I think about inclusion. It is not created by systems alone, but also by how people experience those systems.

I try to highlight perspectives often overlooked when technology is designed from institutional vantage points. I highlight how policies affect people on the ground, and I raise questions about data rights and access control, which are too often treated as technical issues rather than foundations of inclusion.

For me, ensuring inclusivity begins with asking who benefits, who is left out, and how people can meaningfully manage their own data.

2. What’s a moment in your career when you saw firsthand how technology or a new policy changed a citizen’s life for the better?

It is difficult to single out one moment because meaningful improvements usually happen gradually. But one change I witnessed firsthand was the government’s early move to leverage smartphones as a channel for public services. Policies encouraging digital payments, mobile authentication, and online transactions quietly reshaped daily life. What used to require physical documents, queues, or multiple counters can now be done from a single device. For many citizens, especially in urban areas, this shift made public interactions smoother and more accessible. It didn’t just improve public services. It also changed daily routines, making payments, communication, and mobility more convenient for many people.

​​​​​​​3. What was the most impactful project you worked on this year, and how did you measure its success in building trust and serving the needs of the public?

The most meaningful project I worked on this year was completing my PhD research on data governance for patient-generated health data. What mattered was not the academic output, but the conversations it sparked when I shared the work. The topic touches on timely but often uncomfortable issues: data rights, access control, individual agency, and the long-standing mismatch between institutional control and people’s expectations of ownership over their own data.

The discussions drew interest from academics, policymakers, technologists, and medical practitioners. Their varied but consistent acknowledgement that these conversations are overdue was the clearest sign that the work met a genuine need. It helped bring attention to a vital discussion that has yet to gain traction, particularly around responsibility, accountability and how adaptable our systems are to the evolving expectations of a digital society.

​​​​​​​4. What was one unexpected lesson you learned this year about designing for real people? This can be about a specific project or a broader lesson about your work.

One unexpected lesson I learned throughout my PhD journey is that real people are shaped not only by their vulnerability and constraints, but also by their hopes.

Conversations about digital systems, especially in healthcare, often focus on risks, compliance and data protection. But across society and industry, the tone shifted. Many carry unrealised dreams about what technology could make possible, with hopes for more personalised insights, greater empowerment over their health, and a sense of ownership that can nurture even more innovative ways of adopting technology.

Regulators tend to design from a place of caution, but people tend to imagine from a place of possibility. That gap matters. Designing for real people means acknowledging both sides: the need for safety, and the desire for potential. It reminded me that governance should protect people from harm while also creating space for their aspirations to grow.

​​​​​​​5. We hear a lot about AI. What's a practical example of how AI can be used to make government services more inclusive and trustworthy?

AI can make government services more inclusive only when it removes barriers rather than creating new ones. Because the public remains wary of AI that involves personal data, the most practical use today is in communication rather than decision-making.

In a diverse country like Malaysia, AI can translate policies, forms, and instructions into clear, accessible language that reflects our multiethnic society. This helps people navigate complex procedures with clarity and confidence without compromising the very trust we are trying to build.

​​​​​​​6. How are you preparing for the next wave of change in the public sector? What new skill, approach, or technology are you most excited to explore in the coming year?

As Malaysia accelerates its ambition to become an “AI Nation” by 2030, much of the focus centres on developing talent for AI design, deployment, and system management. Yet an equally critical capability receives far less attention: governance expertise that bridges policy, healthcare, and technology, guiding responsible adoption and helping regulators and the public navigate rapidly evolving digital systems.

In this context, the most important approach is to strengthen the ability to translate technical complexity into clear choices, safeguards and expectations. This focus is especially relevant in areas involving data rights, access control, and consent, where trust is built through understanding rather than the system’s technical design alone, and where people-centred governance becomes essential.

​​​​​​​7. What advice do you have for public sector innovators who want to build a career focused on serving all citizens?

Public service is built around the daily lives of the people we serve, so innovation should begin with a simple aim: make their lives easier, not overwhelm them. It is easy to become engrossed in technology or institutional targets and lose sight of how people actually experience the systems we design.

For public sector innovators, an important habit is to place themselves within the system they are shaping to uncover perspectives often overlooked.

Inclusion comes not from new tools alone, but from governance that lets people choose how they participate, instead of assuming consent (or non-consent) on their behalf. Meaningful solutions respect society’s aspirations while staying aligned with regulatory requirements.

​​​​​​​8. Who inspires you to build a more inclusive and trustworthy public sector?

Growing up within the system and seeing how it shapes people’s lives made me realise how much stability and trust in public services matter. My experiences across healthcare, policymaking, and industry engagement exposed the gaps between care, governance, and technology. Understanding those tensions and the perspective each domain brings is what motivates me to focus on inclusion and to think about how services can truly work for the public.

​​​​​​​9. If you had an unlimited budget, what would your dream project be?

If I had an unlimited budget, I would rebuild the foundations of digital health by creating shared national standards and integration rails that support a plug-and-play ecosystem where institutions and devices can integrate seamlessly. With a clean and solid foundation instead of endless patchwork, we might finally create the healthcare utopia often portrayed in science fiction; one that has yet to exist beyond imagination.

​​​​​​​10. Outside tech, what excites you the most?

I love to observe people and the societies they build. I’ve always had a soft spot for culture and history; not just for the stories, but for how they quietly explain why our modern systems behave the way they do. It’s like finding the plot twist in a very long national drama. Watching how people imagine their world, how societies evolve and how different perspectives shape our understanding of what is possible reminds me that even the most complex policies are ultimately influenced by very human tendencies.