Thus far, 2024 has brought significant advancements to the Malaysian tech landscape. With even more developments on the horizon, it’s easy to overlook how much has already been achieved in the first half of the year. As we look ahead to the rest of the year, here’s a recap of some notable events to date.
Legislating security
Dewan Negara unanimously passed the Cyber Security Bill 2024 on March 27, following its third reading by Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, with the aim of bolstering the nation’s cybersecurity.
According to Gobind, the Bill will be instrumental in allowing the government to address cybersecurity incidents that impact the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
CNII refers to systems that would have adverse effects on “national defence and security, national economic stability, national image, the government’s ability to function, public health and safety, as well as individual privacy”, as defined by the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa).
“These are sectors that we see as very important, and if there are cyber threats, if successful, can have a very detrimental effect on the country.
“So, it is necessary for us to see how to establish a law so that we can take steps to ensure that these CNII entities are vigilant, understand the risks, and know how to take countermeasures,” Gobind told Bernama.
On the subject of regulation, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching announced that an Online Safety Bill is in the drafting process and is targeted for tabling in July.
As of May 19, she said the draft for the Bill is about 60% complete, adding that if the July timeline proves infeasible, the government will “ensure it is tabled by the final parliamentary session at the end of the year”.
According to Teo, the Bill aims to ensure that all platform providers in Malaysia adhere to relevant standard operating procedures and facilitate authorities in obtaining information and conducting investigations related to online security issues, thereby enhancing the safety of digital spaces.
In April, Teo said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will work with social media networks to regulate the use of such platforms by children under 13 years old.
The collaborative effort involves the prevention of account creation by those under the age of 13 and the deletion of existing accounts belonging to children below the minimum age.
Setting a course for AI
The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) stated in a March report that the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) code of ethics is also in the works and is nearing completion.
The code outlines seven principles for responsible AI use, aimed at ensuring safe and conscientious deployment of the technology.
Mosti conducted public consultation sessions in March to gather feedback on the draft document, aiming to incorporate amendments and improvements before finalising it.
Earlier in January, the government launched the AI Untuk Rakyat website, a platform for self-learning available in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil to familiarise Malaysians from all backgrounds with how the technology works and what they can do with it.
As of June, over a million Malaysians have completed the two modules in the course.
The year also saw an influx of investment from foreign tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Nvidia (read “Transformation Through Tech Titans”, StarLifestyle, June 10, 2024; online at bit.ly/mytechtitans).
These investments brought with them a commitment from the companies to lend a hand in developing local tech talents.
Microsoft, for instance, announced via the AI Teach for Asean programme in February that it would train 1,000 TVET (technical and vocational education and training) educators on AI literacy.
The goal is to empower them to subsequently train 100,000 local students in these skills.
Nvidia, on the other hand, launched an AI Sandbox Pilot Programme with Mosti in April, which aims to establish up to 900 AI startups by 2026 and create 13,000 talents for the industry.
Another programme, spearheaded by the MCMC and Huawei, is the Digital Leadership Excellence Programme: Navigating The Tech Frontier, launched in March to nurture leaders across sectors with tech know-how to drive digital transformation in their organisations.
The development of talent responds to calls to address brain drain and a talent gap in the tech field, voiced by organisations like the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (Mranti).
This year also saw the launch of the country’s Central Database Hub (Padu), which required citizens to update their personal information on the database’s portal to be eligible for government subsidies.
As of the March 31 deadline, around 10.6 million Malaysians had registered on the platform. However, it remains to be seen how the data will be used in the distribution of subsidies and the implementation of other social schemes.
The decision-making process will be made transparent under the powers and provisions stipulated by the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which includes the publication of the Applicant Information Package (AIP).
