KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Malaysia is second in Asean and 23rd in the world in terms of artificial intelligence (AI) readiness, said CyberSecurity Malaysia, an agency under the Digital Ministry.
CyberSecurity Malaysia’s Digital Forensics Department specialist Nazri Ahmad Zamani said the nation is ready to attract more technology and AI-related investment, which will create more demand for a highly skilled workforce in future, such as for data centres.
He said based on research conducted by Oxford Insights for the year 2023, Malaysia’s government AI readiness stood at 79.99 per cent, data infrastructure readiness at 72 per cent, and AI readiness (total score) at 68.71 per cent.
“As Malaysia continues to gear up its initiatives to become the regional hub for cloud computing and related technologies, such as generative AI, the country has cemented its position as second in Asean for AI readiness,” he told Bernama at the Palo Alto Networks flagship event, Ignite on Tour, here recently.
According to the research, Malaysia is ahead of other Asean countries except Singapore, and has climbed from 29th spot in 2022 to 23rd this year with improved marks across all categories.
Nazri said Malaysia has attracted investments such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, proving it is on the right track.
Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia approved RM114.7 billion worth of investment in data centres and cloud services between 2021 and 2023.
Anwar said these investments have created 2,325 high-value jobs in specialised fields such as data science, data analytics, data engineering, cybersecurity analysis, and network engineering.
He said the Madani government is committed to positioning Malaysia as a sustainable AI data centre destination in Southeast Asia, as part of its efforts to strengthen the country’s position as a leading global investment destination.
Meanwhile, asked about the initiatives to further enhance education on AI, Nazri said the government’s initiative to kickstart the “AI Untuk Rakyat” programme is a stepping stone, and more advocacy needs to be done.
“As we head towards an AI future, we need to prepare our next generation not just at the tertiary level, but also at primary and secondary schools, so we will have more talent to cater to future demand,” he said.
Curb cyber threats with education
In line with the increasing AI advancement, Palo Alto Networks regional vice-president for Asean Steven Scheurmann said as AI and digitalisation become a must in daily necessities, there has been an increase in cyber threats globally, leading to financial losses.
“Phishing and ransomware are becoming bigger threats by the minute as attacks can now be done by AI bots. They can impersonate others, and create ransomware in minutes compared to weeks before.
“This is a global problem and we need to start educating the public,” he said.
Scheurmann also said many elderly people have repeatedly fallen victim as they have a deep trust of everything said to or shared with them.
“Thus, we need to continue educating them about the danger of clicking on everything they receive to ensure they do not fall in those traps,” he said.
Scheurmann added that the Cybersecurity Bill the government passed recently is a stepping stone in safeguarding Malaysia’s cybersecurity.
The Bill was approved by Parliament on March 27.
It introduces requirements for the designated entities within the National Critical Information Infrastructure sectors to comply with a code of practice, specific standards, measures, and processes when handling cybersecurity incidents.
— Bernama
