KUALA LUMPUR: Education related to artificial intelligence (AI) will be expanded in all research universities with an allocation of RM50mil, up from RM20mil this year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar who is also Finance Minister in tabling Budget 2025 on Friday (Oct 18) said there are positive signs related to AI in this country such as the establishment of the first Faculty of Artificial Intelligence at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia within a short time.
"This gives us hope that there are signs that our educational institutions are heading towards excellence," he said.
The Prime Minister said Universiti Malaya will focus on AI in the field of medicine to combat the challenges of deadly diseases such as cancer, while Universiti Putra Malaysia will establish the Malaysian Cryptology Technology and Management Centre in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) to follow up on quantum computing AI in preparation to face complicated cyber security threat.
Meanwhile, he said Universiti Sains Malaysia will explore semiconductors in line with Malaysia's status as a world semiconductor hub that boosts cooperation including with Intel and Infineon, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is leading AI translation to elevate Malay as the language of science.
He said at the same time, the government will continue to promote research, development, commercial and creative activities.
"The research and development (R&D) fund is raised to RM600mil compared to RM510mil under the Higher Education Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry," he said.
In addition, he said the Malaysia Science Endowment (MSE) Trust Fund is also provided with funds amounting to RM170mil which will be used to provide matching grants for private bodies and industry to drive the programme
The Malaysia Techlympics programme with an allocation of RM10mil continues to be intensified as an incentive to produce local experts in the field of robotics and AI technology, he said.
At the same time, Anwar said as much as RM10mil was provided for the National AI Office (NAIO) to combine efforts to increase the use of AI through collaboration with academia and industry.
