It was previously announced that Malaysians can gain three months of complimentary Coursera access through the government-funded Global Learning Pass. At the time, the Digital Ministry said that 100,000 licences will be rolled out in phases from 16 September onwards. Today, the ministry says that 25,000 passes will be added, following “huge interest by the public in signing up for the programme”. The ministry also said that this “reflects the government’s commitment to responding to citizens’ interest in digital upskilling by providing easily accessible learning opportunities”.
The Digital Minister, Gobind Singh Deo, said “the overwhelming response to the Global Learning Pass demonstrates a keen interest among the public to continuously learn. Through this additional allocation of 25,000 licences, we are answering that demand and creating more opportunities for Malaysians to strengthen their capabilities, enhance their career prospects, and apply the knowledge gained”.
In its statement, the ministry said that these additional 25,000 licences will be offered in mid-November to those already in line on the waiting list. Applicants on the waiting list “are advised to check their registered email accounts regularly, including their Spam and Promotions folders, for notifications and instructions on the next steps to obtain their respective licences”.
In case you missed it, the Global Learning Pass was first announced back in August, as part of the expansion of the Rakyat Digital portal. The original rollout plan was for the 100,000 passes to be released in four cohorts of 25,000 over a year. The first 25,000 were offered on 16 September.
Beyond the Global Learning Pass, the AI Untuk Rakyat programme is also available via the Rakyat Digital portal. After taking five prerequisite courses, eligible youths can access four paid GenAI tools, which are Google Gemini Enterprise, YTL’s ILMUchat, as well as Alibaba’s MuleRun and WonderClip. Initially, only 100,000 subscriptions of these were offered, but at the Budget 2027 tabling, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the addition of 100,000 more.
