Malaysia is set to establish a national cloud policy and implement regulations aimed at promoting the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI), Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Tuesday. This initiative comes amid a surge of investments from global tech companies in the country, focused on building essential infrastructure to meet the rising demand for cloud and AI services.
The national cloud policy will target four key areas: enhancing public service innovation and efficiency, boosting economic competitiveness and growth, building user trust and data security, and fostering digital inclusivity for citizens. Additionally, the government plans to create a national AI office to coordinate initiatives, including finalizing a five-year technology action plan and developing a regulatory framework to promote ethical and sustainable AI practices within the next year.
Anwar stated, “We aim to position Malaysia as a hub for generative artificial intelligence, and investments from tech partners will be crucial in establishing a robust and secure digital infrastructure.” This announcement was made at the groundbreaking ceremony for Google’s new $2 billion data center and cloud region in Malaysia.
Google recently revealed a multi-year partnership with a local tech firm to offer sovereign cloud services, predicting that its investments in Malaysia will create approximately 26,500 jobs and contribute over $3 billion to the economy by 2030. Google President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat emphasized that these investments are intended to deliver high performance and reliability to meet the growing demand for cloud and AI services nationwide.
Digital investments have significantly boosted Malaysia’s economy this year, with growth surpassing market expectations in recent quarters and the ringgit becoming one of the strongest currencies in Asia. Google’s expansion is part of a broader trend among global tech firms aiming to establish a stronger foothold in Southeast Asia, a region with a youthful, tech-savvy population of 670 million.
In a related announcement, Google also declared a $1 billion investment in Thailand to build a data center and cloud region to support increasing cloud demand and AI adoption across Southeast Asia.
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