PETALING JAYA: The government is in the process of enhancing the legislative and regulatory infrastructure to manage data security issues in the face of rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.
As part of this effort, the focus would include AI governance, said Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo at the Asean AI Summit organised by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia last Friday.
Gobind had announced last month that enhancing the legislative and regulatory infrastructure would be part of the Digital Trust and Data Security Strategy 2026 to 2030.
“AI governance will include different layers – you may have some areas that would need actual governance – so legislation is needed here.
“So if someone is going to create solutions in an area that would involve technology that impacts national security, you want to ensure we are in a position to know what is going on to ensure that it is safe,” Gobind said at the session’s fireside chat.
“So we may have to legislate and mandate certain things pertaining to that.
“Then you will have a second layer that involves regulations which will not involve legislation here since regulations may already be sufficient.
“And there is also another layer where it is for everyday use such as the Waze app – in this layer perhaps standards would be sufficient,” he added.
Gobind also said the government, Road Transport Department and other stakeholders were also working together to draft rules governing not only driverless cars but also areas such as drones and robotics.
On the sidelines of the summit, Gobind also hinted that Malaysia’s Budget 2026 may see the announcement of special grants for small and medium enterprises in an effort to encourage AI implementation.
“Pertaining to this, hold on first. The budget is coming and let’s take it one step at a time,” Gobind said when asked.
Meanwhile, earlier in his keynote address that was read out by Gobind, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said Budget 2026 would place AI at the forefront, with allocations and initiatives aimed at transforming the nation into a regional AI powerhouse.
“This national ambition is strengthened by our position within South-East Asia.
“The region is already a collective AI powerhouse with a rapidly expanding digital economy projected to add over US$1 trillion to our combined gross domestic product and this in the next 60 months, by the year 2030,” Fadillah said.
He noted that Malaysia’s AI nation framework revolves around five key pillars – forward-looking policies, digitally fluent workforce, secure infrastructure, digital trust and strategic investments.
Citing the World Economic Forum’s forecast that half of the global workforce would need to upskill by 2026, he pointed out that AI would reshape the job market.
Gobind also noted that digitalising data continues to be a huge feature, emphasising that data should be secure in terms of privacy and safety.
