KUALA LUMPUR – Budget 2025 should include significant investments aimed at securing Malaysia’s position as a regional leader in the global digital economy, more so as the country assumes the Asean chairmanship.
Cybersecurity firm Novem CS Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer Murugason R. Thangaratnam said it is vital the Supply Bill, to be tabled in Parliament on Friday, includes robust research and development (R&D) investments and initiatives.
Budget 2025, Murugason told Scoop, should not be just a fiscal policy but rather a blueprint for Malaysia’s digital future that will determine the nation’s trajectory for years to come.
The federal budget should support public-private partnerships which drive digital transformations across various industries, he said, expressing hope that it would include initiatives toward increasing the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), fortifying digital security, building data resilience and developing proper talent capacity building.
“With strategic investments in the right areas, Malaysia can lead the global digital
revolution, creating a prosperous and sustainable future for all, leaving nobody behind.
“It’s not just about keeping pace, but setting the standards, at least at the Asean level, which we are poised to lead in 2025,” he said.
Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officially represented Malaysia in receiving the Asean Chairmanship for 2025, marking the fifth time the nation will be helming the leadership role.
Murugason also said that while all nations would like to mobilise their resources to play an active role in AI development and utilisation, only a few countries have the resources and financial capacity to do so – with Malaysia being no exception as it faces plenty of challenges.
However, he recognised the government’s efforts in setting up the National AI Office (NAIO), which will serve as the central body to advance Malaysia’s AI agenda, with the Digital Ministry set to utilise the office to achieve key AI-related government goals over the next year.
These goals, Murugason said, include finalising the AI Technology Action Plan (2026-2030), establishing regulations for ethical AI use, and accelerating AI adoption across important sectors.
“To be honest, the journey will be challenging. Proper planning and consistent messaging are important. Substantial spending on R&D, which should and must translate into actionable and sustainable plans is equally crucial.
“It is paramount to have the right talent and leadership (able to) understand how to leverage on existing AI technology to increase efficiency and benefit from this powerful tool,” he said, noting that a pain point which needs to be addressed relates to how the government must improve the public’s interaction with technology systems.
As such, he said that there is a need for more engagements between industries, civil societies and academic organisations working to advance these technologies and the government institutions that are going to be representing them.
The NAIO, which comes under the purview of MyDigital Corporation, is expected to begin operating in November this year, with one of its main areas of focus said to be to create an ecosystem to establish Malaysia as a regional AI hub.
Murugason highlighted that transformation is not optional in today’s day and age, arguing that the world is now at a tipping point where countries that do not attempt to transform will not succeed.
“But the real question for this budget is how much and where to allocate the ‘activation energy’ of the transformation budget, because the natural tendency is to over-invest in certain areas and underinvest, or completely ignore, others.”
On that note, Murugason said that Budget 2025 should allocate substantial resources to upskilling programmes and building a future-proof talent pool which is not only locally employable but also globally recognised.
He cautioned, however, that such allocations should be invested wisely instead of solely being focused on funding “for the sake of meeting quotas” and producing low-level, or in some cases, “worthless” certifications.
“Our people are our greatest asset. Diversity and inclusivity are critical components for fostering innovation. By supporting inclusivity in the tech sector, Budget 2025 can help build a resilient and adaptable workforce, by tapping on a diverse talent pool to drive progress.”
Meanwhile, a separate senior leader from the digital industry told Scoop that Budget 2025 is likely to focus on how digitalisation trends can help underprivileged sections of society, with an emphasis on e-commerce.
“An easier way to uplift people to ensure that they have an income is through e-commerce, so the budget will probably include programmes to ensure that people are trained to conduct businesses online.
“Considering how the proportions of rural and urban populations have changed over time, there is a need for the government to focus on the urban poor. The fastest way to get them on speed is through (increasing their expertise regarding) e-commerce,” said the leader, who requested anonymity.
They also noted that the government is likely to strive to address the public’s concern on how AI could replace their job duties by providing massive AI training for citizens, ensuring that no one will be left behind as the nation progresses towards digitalisation.
“Technology will create and replace jobs at the same time (as) it replaces people who do mundane jobs, but also creates new jobs for people who are adept in tasks such as data analysis.
“To make sure that people will always have a job, you have to train them.” – October 16, 2024
