The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Malaysia, in collaboration with AI Malaysia (AIM), has launched a platform to advance AI innovation.

Themed “AI Conversations 2025”, the event featured leaders from government, industry, and academia discussing AI’s role in enhancing Malaysia’s position as a regional digital economy leader.

Notable attendees included Professor Richard Sutton, the 2024 Turing Award winner, recognized for his contributions to reinforcement learning.

Gobind Singh Deo, Malaysia’s Minister of Digital, officiated the launch and highlighted the importance of collaboration in advancing AI.

Backed by the Ministry of Digital, the National Al Office (NAIO), MyDigital, and ASEAN-BAC Malaysia, AIM aims to drive AI innovation, foster talent development, and contribute to economic growth.

Tan Sri Nazir Razak of ASEAN-BAC Malaysia said AIM’s role in driving regional cooperation through AI use cases, investments, and talent development.

Sponsors and partners, including Silverlake, AmBank, Axiata, and CIMB, have also contributed to the initiative.

🔗 Source: AI Malaysia

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Malaysia positions itself in a competitive ASEAN AI race

The launch of AIM reflects Malaysia’s strategic response to intense regional competition for AI leadership where Singapore currently dominates with a comprehensive strategy and $741 million investment to expand its AI workforce to 15,000 1.

This initiative comes as Southeast Asian nations increasingly view AI as a critical economic driver, with projections suggesting AI could contribute up to $950 billion to regional GDP by 2030 2.

Malaysia’s approach emphasizes multi-stakeholder collaboration, bringing together government, industry, and academia, which addresses a key challenge identified in regional AI development where siloed efforts have limited effectiveness 3.

The timing is significant as AI projects across ASEAN increased by 80% in 2023, with budgets expected to rise by 67% in 2024-2025, creating an opportunity for Malaysia to capture investment and talent 3.

2️⃣ Balancing economic opportunity with workforce transformation challenges

Malaysia’s AI push comes against a backdrop of significant workforce concerns, with research estimating that 54% of jobs in the country could be at high risk of automation over the next two decades 4.