GEORGE TOWN: The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance Bill being drafted by the Digital Ministry is expected to be tabled in Parliament this quarter or by the first quarter of next year at the latest, says Gobind Singh Deo (pic).
The Digital Minister said the ministry completed the draft Bill after conducting workshops and engagement sessions to gather stakeholder views, and is now in the process of submitting it to the Cabinet.
“The draft has already been completed. Hopefully, it will be tabled in Parliament this quarter or, if not, in the first quarter of next year,” he said after officiating the opening of Scars of War – An International Photography and Art Exhibition at the Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery here yesterday, Bernama reported.
The two-month exhibition, Scars of War, explores the impact of armed conflict through 38 documentary photographs by Alison Locke, Cory Wright, Giovanni Diffidenti and Werner Anderson, alongside four original artworks by Prof Lin Xiang Xiong.
Gobind said AI governance was not solely focused on legislation, but involved three main aspects, namely standards, regulations and laws, with matters that could be addressed through standards already being implemented through the establishment of MY-AI Standards under the ministry, which is now collaborating with Sirim Berhad.
He said there were AI-related matters that required regulation but did not necessarily warrant legislation, and could therefore be addressed through regulations that could be implemented more quickly.
“For some of these matters, we look first at standards, then regulations and subsequently laws. The ability to formulate regulations is also important, given that AI technology is developing rapidly and new issues may arise at any time,” he said.
He said the establishment of AI Malaysia was part of efforts to provide a structure to ensure compliance with the law and enable action to be taken in the event of violations.
“Efforts to establish the enforcement structure are now being pursued concurrently with the process of bringing the Bill to the Cabinet.
“This integrated approach is important to ensure that governance and enforcement mechanisms are in place when the Bill is passed,” he said.
Separately, Gobind said the Digital Ministry has submitted proposals for Budget 2027 to the Finance Ministry, focusing on incentives to reduce digital hardware and software costs for small businesses.
“We met with Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan two weeks ago to present our ideas.
“The goal is to ensure technology is not just accessible, but actively adopted to deliver real economic benefits,” he said.
