Earlier this year, the government introduced a new initiative, which enabled 100,000 youths across the nation to enjoy free subscriptions to select artificial intelligence (AI) software. Now, under Budget 2027, another 100,000 subscriptions will be offered next year.
According to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, this decision follows an encouraging response to the current initiative. To recap, the programme was announced in July, with registrations opening at the end of August. Through this programme, Malaysians aged between 18 and 30 are required to complete a series of AI-related courses on the Rakyat Digital portal. Once done, they are given three months of access to selected AI tools.
Worth noting that the Rakyat Digital website also serves as a digital learning hub, providing resources, specialised skills training, and other AI-related tools. Recently, the platform began offering three months of complimentary access to Coursera, allowing Malaysians to benefit from over 16,000 courses.
In addition to offering more subscriptions to youths, the Prime Minister revealed that the government will be expanding the initiative to cover more applications, such as ChatGPT. At the moment, the AI tools offered through the programme include Google’s Gemini Enterprise, YTL’s ILMUchat, as well as Alibaba’s MuleRun and WonderClip.
Furthermore, Anwar disclosed that the government will develop a sovereign AI cloud to ensure the citizens’ data and the country’s strategic information remain under national control. He went on to emphasise the need for youths to master future-oriented fields, including coding, data science and quantum technology.
Anwar also announced that the government will allocate RM6 billion to increase research, development, and commercialisation activities across activities. Additionally, AI Malaysia Bhd will receive around RM15 million to strengthen the safe and ethical AI ecosystem, with the aim of supporting the development of 200,000 skilled AI workers. Meanwhile, Malaysian Digital Economy Corp will allocate RM30 million for assisting 4,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in adopting AI in their operations.
(Source: RTM via YouTube)
