Malaysia plans sovereign AI cloud and more free subscriptions in Budget 2027

Malaysia plans to develop a Sovereign AI Cloud intended to keep citizens’ data and strategic national information under Malaysian control, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced while tabling Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on 9 October, The Rakyat Post reported. The budget also provides for more free AI subscriptions for young people, funding for research and business adoption, and a planned application for checking suspected scams.

Anwar’s plan for a Sovereign AI Cloud

Anwar presented the cloud as a way to retain national control over Malaysians’ data and the country’s strategic information. He also said Malaysia should develop AI without putting its values and security at risk. The proposal sits alongside a separate plan for government bodies and educational institutions to contribute language data to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Under that plan, ministries, agencies and educational institutions will supply authenticated and annotated digital language data. Anwar said the contributions would support the development of Malaysian AI grounded in national identity. The cloud proposal concerns control over data, while the contributions to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka concern material that public institutions and educators would supply for AI development. Both measures place government bodies in roles beyond purchasing AI services.

Another 100,000 subscriptions for young people

The government will provide 100,000 additional free AI subscriptions and extend the offer to applications including ChatGPT, the New Straits Times reported. Anwar described the response to the existing programme for young people as encouraging. The expanded offer for young people will include ChatGPT.

Anwar also urged young people to gain skills in coding, data science and quantum technology. Separately, the Rakyat Digital platform provides free access to more than 16,000 courses and Professional Certificate programmes through a partnership with Coursera. Those courses and the additional AI subscriptions are distinct parts of the government’s account of how it intends to widen access to digital tools and training.

Individual tax relief in the lifestyle category will also cover AI subscriptions. That measure concerns people paying for subscriptions themselves, alongside the free places offered to young people. Together, the two measures extend public support for AI access through different routes: an allocation of subscriptions and a change to the treatment of eligible individual spending.

RM6 billion across ministries and RM30 million for SMEs

Budget 2027 allocates RM6 billion across ministries for research, development and commercialisation. AI Malaysia Berhad is to receive nearly RM15 million to strengthen what the government describes as a safe and ethical AI ecosystem, with a target of 200,000 AI-skilled workers. The worker figure is a target, rather than a count of people already trained.

A separate RM30 million MDEC fund will help 4,000 SMEs adopt AI and automate operations, The Rakyat Post reported. The programme will also train and certify 5,000 AI professionals. Those commitments give the business-adoption effort two stated groups to serve: firms changing their operations and people seeking a professional qualification.

The government’s other technology measures include investment plans for data centres and semiconductors, alongside a separate plan for robotics training. Sime Darby Property, EPF and LTAT are setting up a RM1.25 billion New Economy Venture Fund for data centres and logistics assets in Elmina, Selangor. Khazanah and KWAP will commit RM1.2 billion to help Malaysian chip-sector firms enter more valuable lines of business, including via a fund with the Selangor government.

National Scam Response Centre plans an AI checker

Anwar also set out digital-security measures outside the cloud proposal. He said the National Cyber Security Agency and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will develop local data-protection technology intended to address threats from quantum computers. He described Malaysia as recognised at Tier 1 for readiness to move to post-quantum cryptography. Separately, he said MyDigital ID had more than 14 million registered users across 203 public and private services.

For scams, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has blocked more than 5.7 billion scam calls and SMS, according to the budget account reported by The Rakyat Post. The National Scam Response Centre will develop an AI application through which people can check a phone number, bank account or suspicious link before making a transaction.