SALUTATIONS
1. Hon. Seema Malhotra
Minister for the Indo-Pacific and Minister for Equalities UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
2. His Excellency Dr. Kao Kim Hourn
Secretary-General of ASEAN
3. His Excellency Ajay Sharma
British High Commissioner to Malaysia
4. Ms Chandu Chaudhary
SEA Regional Director of S&T, British High Commission Singapore
5. Yang Berusaha Tuan Surya Kumar A/L Subramaniam
Deputy Undersecretary, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)
6. Excellencies & Foreign Dignitaries
Distinguished Guests, Representatives from Ministries, Agencies and Universities,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Salam Perpaduan, Salam Malaysia MADANI and a very good Evening.
1. Thank you for inviting me to join you at the UK-ASEAN AI Innovation Summit 2025.
2. We meet at a time when ASEAN-UK relations are growing stronger. In 2024, trade reached £53 billion (GBP) — nearly 10 percent higher than the year before — making the UK ASEAN's fourth largest investor.
3. But our partnership goes beyond trade; it extends to technology and innovation.
4. ASEAN and the UK are natural partners in this respect. The UK is a global leader in AI — from frontier research to its vibrant innovation clusters. ASEAN, with nearly 700 million people and 460 million digital consumers, is both a vast market and a creator of AI solutions, applying them at scale in finance, healthcare, and education.
5. Within this broader partnership, Malaysia and the UK have deepened our own bilateral ties. It was in this spirit of partnership that I travelled to the UK earlier this year for London Tech Week. During this trip, we engaged with UK policymakers, researchers, and technology companies, and even connected 23 Malaysian firms with 80 British counterparts in AI, cybersecurity, and fintech.
6. Today’s summit builds on that momentum, reminding us that AI’s promise is greatest when we innovate together — responsibly, inclusively, and with trust at the core.
LOOKING BACK: STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOR INNOVATION
Ladies and Gentlemen,
7. Against this backdrop, I want to share Malaysia’s AI growth strategies: how we are building a dynamic AI ecosystem in the Global South that spurs innovation, attracts investment, and demonstrates global relevance.
8. Our story begins with infrastructure. Recognising AI as central to our digital future, we have invested early in an AI-ready backbone. Malaysia is now on track to become ASEAN’s data centre hub, projected to host two-thirds of regional capacity by 2035, supported by a world-class 5G network.
9. But strong infrastructure must be matched with trustworthy policies. In 2024, we enacted the Cyber Security Act to protect critical infrastructure and updated the Personal Data Protection Act to align with global standards. This year, we introduced a National Cloud Computing Policy to ensure a secure, sovereign, and sustainable cloud future, and we are drafting a Digital Trust and Data Security Strategy to further strengthen resilience.
10. Yet infrastructure and regulation mean little without people. That is why we have invested in capacity building for different segments of society:
A. For the general public, we have introduced the Rakyat Digital initiative, offering free courses that have already equipped more than 1.4 million Malaysians with basic skills in AI, blockchain, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
B. For tertiary students, our Premier Digital Tech Institutions initiative bridges universities with technology companies, with 60,000 industry-ready graduates produced at a 95% employability rate to date.
C. As for decision-makers, our Executive Digital Leadership programme with the Asia School of Business prepares midto senior-level executives to drive digital transformation in their organisations.
D. These are just a few examples of the targeted programmes and initiatives that we are actively scaling across the country. 11. Ultimately, digital infrastructure, regulation, and talent form the building blocks of Malaysia’s digital ecosystem — the quiet engine powering the innovations we rely on every day.
LOOKING AHEAD: ACCELERATING INNOVATION UNDER RMK-13
12. But foundations alone are not enough. Our next frontier is about acceleration — making AI a true engine of national competitiveness.
13. That is why our 13th Malaysia Plan, announced by Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim in July, positions AI as a strategic enabler of national growth. To translate our AI Nation vision into reality, we are reimagining the AI and data governance structures of tomorrow.
14. Central to this is the National AI Office (NAIO), established in November 2024. NAIO is now developing a National AI Action Plan 2026-2030, which will set Malaysia’s course for a responsible and innovative AI future.
15. We are also in the process of establishing a National Data Commission, which will have oversight on data governance in Malaysia, establishing trusted data flows and safeguarding data rights.
16. In parallel, we are expanding government digital data through a public sector data digitalisation policy and establishing a National Data Bank — a trusted repository of high-quality datasets from various ministries and sectors.
17. Together, these efforts create the data foundation that fuels Malaysia's AI ambitions.
LOOKING BEYOND: REGIONAL & GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
18. Yet our ambition does not stop at Malaysia’s borders. We see our role as a regional convener and a reliable global partner.
19. In August, Malaysia hosted the ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025 in Kuala Lumpur. This flagship event brought together more than 10,000 AI stakeholders — from regional policymakers to researchers, innovators, developers, and citizens — to exchange ideas, collaborate, and forge new partnerships.
20. Our convening efforts do not end there. As ASEAN chair, Malaysia is spearheading the ASEAN AI SAFE Network — a platform to advance AI safety research, promote responsible AI adoption, and encourage harmonised standards between ASEAN Member States.
21. We are also advancing the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) — an ambitious digital pact that will harmonise ASEAN’s digital rules of the road, unlocking deep collaboration on emerging technologies and interoperable standards.
22. Taken together, these efforts tell a single story: Malaysia is building an AI ecosystem that is innovative at its core, trusted by design, and connected to the region and the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
23. Innovation and trust are two sides of the same coin, and Malaysia’s vision is to balance both.
24. That is why today’s conversation matters. The challenge before us is not about who gets to the frontier first, but how we get there together — responsibly, inclusively, and for shared prosperity.
25. We stand ready to partner with the UK to co-innovate, co-invest, and co-lead in the AI era. Together, we can ensure that AI is a driver of growth for all.
Thank You.
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