Anwar said that transforming cities is part of the Asean region's constant efforts to address poverty and elevate lives, adding that a smart city must be both culturally vibrant and technologically savvy. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia gears up towards becoming an AI Nation by 2030, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says a tech-driven space like smart cities should be built to serve the people.
"A city must be built for the people and serve its purpose and championed by our enterprises. We must be proud to have solutions that reflect our unique needs and values," he said during a speech at the Smart City Expo in Kuala Lumpur today (Sept 18).
He explained that transforming cities is part of the Asean region's constant efforts to address poverty and elevate lives, adding that a smart city must be both culturally vibrant and technologically savvy.
"From leveraging AI capabilities in energy, water, waste management to strengthening our national resilience with technology empowered disaster response, the Smart City bolsters cost efficiencies, decreases our environmental footprint and fortifies our cities to be better prepared for future perils," he added.
This includes AI-empowered government services, which Anwar said "could increase accessibility, ensure consistency in responses, thus strengthening our commitment ultimately to justice, stability and safety".
He also stressed the importance of maintaining AI safety, ethics and principles in the midst of fast-paced development.
"Despite the pressures of an everchanging landscape, we must hold steadfast to the ethos of inclusivity and sustainability. We must decisively shape cities around people and address their concerns," said Anwar.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said all states in Malaysia have embarked on their own initiatives towards building a smart city.
"It has been in development since a few years ago. For example, I visited Penang and there is a command centre to oversee matters related to traffic, safety and cleanliness," he said.
However, Gobind said the existing initiatives are operating in silos. He added that for AI Nation vision to come true, there has to be an effort to combine all initiatives where aspects such as data-sharing can be performed more effectively.
"Moving ahead, we are looking at how we can bring all of the current solutions that exist at state and local government levels to the centre and streamline into solutions that we can expand to across the country involving how data can be shared, stored and ultimately, finding (more) solutions through innovation," Gobind said.
The Smart City KL Expo on Day 2 saw four MOU signings which include a Digital Nasional Berhad-Ericsson partnership to launch a 5G, AI and IoT training programme targeting 40,000 government employees.
