SALUTATIONS

Yang Berhormat Datuk Wilson Ugak Anak Kumbong Deputy Minister, Ministry of Digital

Yang Berhormat Dato’ Haji Mohammad Yusof Apdal Deputy Minister, Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation

Yang Berhormat Tuan Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh Chairman, MDEC

His Excellency Axel Cruau Ambassador of France to Malaysia

His Excellency Dr. Mahadi Juma Maalim High Commissioner of United Republic of Tanzania to Malaysia

Yang Berusaha Anuar Fariz Fadzil Chief Executive Officer, MDEC

Miss Fleur Pellerin Former Minister for SMEs, Innovation and Digital Economy, France

Mr. Andrew Tai Director, Synapze

Esteemed guests,

Members of the media,

Ladies and gentlemen.

Good morning and Salam Malaysia MADANI.

1. First and foremost, I’m honoured to be here today at the Malaysia Digital Xceleration (MDX) Summit 2024. This summit is a pivotal part of our mission here in Malaysia to position our country as a leader in the global digital economy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

2. In early human history, technological progress unfolded at a slow pace. Primitive innovations like stone tools and the bow and arrow emerged after long periods of stagnation– often spanning millennia.

3. Contrast this to the first Industrial Revolution. In less than 100 years, between 1750 and 1850, major breakthroughs like the steam engine, electromagnet, and telegraph changed the course of human history.

4. The trend is clear: technology is not only evolving, it’s accelerating exponentially. A single innovation used to stretch across millennia. Today it advances in a matter of decades, even months. Fittingly, we are at the Malaysia Digital Xceleration Summit 2024.

5. (Off the cuff, edited for clarity) I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing first-hand the acceleration of digital technology in this country. Five years ago, as Minister of Communications and Multimedia, our focus was connectivity. At that point in time, the discussion was about how we could make sure each and every Malaysian had access to connectivity. And the impact of that was huge. We realised that if you could actually bring connectivity to each and every Malaysian, you 3 could connect them to the world and provide them with huge opportunities. A world of knowledge, a world of opportunities, and of course hope of a much brighter future. When Fleur came into office in 2012, at that point in time, discussions about these technologies were just beginning. As she would know having been a former minister herself, we have to decide how we structure the ministry and devise plans to move ahead. It was really for us to chart the future of the ministry. Similarly with me and the Ministry of Digital, starting a new ministry in December last year. I had to get advice from various parties, understand where technology is heading and most importantly, bring together industries, and also to understand what your concerns were. Then as government, we formulate the policies together so that we can build an ecosystem that is strong, vibrant and one which holds promise for us in this digital world. (During my time as Minister of Communications and Multimedia) We connected Malaysians from all walks of life to the Internet. At the time, there was the question of whether we could bring the price of internet services down. I wasn't really popular with the telcos at that time! But I was able to push everyone to reduce prices and of course to increase the quality of connectivity, which was ‘double the speed, half the price’. Of course, that was the beginning of more to come. (End)

Harnessing Today’s Technologies

6. Fast forward to today, as I lead the Ministry of Digital, the future we once envisioned has arrived. And the conversation has shifted beyond securing basic connectivity. Now, we are building on that foundation, looking ahead to the crucial technologies of today, like AI and 5G.

7. Weare seeing AI unlock innovative use cases across a multitude of domains– from business, to manufacturing, to healthcare. Just two months ago, Lung Cancer Network Malaysia (LCNM), announced the successful diagnosis and treatment of Malaysia’s first lung cancer case detected using AI– remarkably, for a patient with no symptoms.

8. Generative AI, too, is transforming industries in profound ways. In the service sector, for example, we are witnessing the rise of AI agents that go beyond delivering pre-programmed responses, to autonomously performing tasks and making decisions.

9. In a similar vein, 5G technology– with its ultra low latency, high speed, and ability to connect a massive number of devices– is a foundational, cross-cutting technology whose impact touches all sectors. It enables real-time data processing, paving the way for advancements in areas such as smart cities, autonomous vehicles, and remote surgeries.

10.As it stands, as of September 2024, Malaysia’s 5G coverage has reached over 82% COPA, and has recorded 17.3 million 5G service subscriptions, representing an adoption rate of 50.8%.

Charting Future Technologies.

11. But as we navigate the seas of change today, we must also prepare for tomorrow’s uncharted horizons. What new technologies will define our collective future, and what will their implications be?

12.The metaverse, for one, holds great promise as the next frontier of the internet. It converges our physical and virtual lives, creating rich and immersive digital worlds within which we can act, interact, and transact.

13.Consider a future, for instance, where a simple search can conjure 3D dinosaurs in this room. Or take you on a lifelike walking tour to the Taj Mahal. Or for faithful Liverpool supporters like me, even tour the Anfield stadium virtually– all while standing right here in MITEC.

14.Shurick Agapitov, CEO of Xsolla, paints a picture of this vision in his book, Once Upon Tomorrow. “Consider that in five to ten years, you will have the opportunity to whisk yourself away to a virtual space anywhere in the world. The metaverse will provide a secret ‘door’ that you can use to escape from or enhance your physical world.”

15.Beyond consumer entertainment, imagine having digital twins virtual replicas– of physical objects or entire cities. City officials will be able to simulate infrastructure projects before building them in the real world. Businesses will be empowered to remotely analyse their operations and optimise workflows. People will make better, data-driven decisions without incurring costs in the real world.

16.Computer vision, too, has potential to unlock new efficiencies in various sectors, by enabling machines to interpret and understand visual information from the world around them.

17.For instance, in the healthcare sector, computer vision can help doctors to diagnose medical conditions by analysing X-rays or MRI scans with remarkable accuracy. In manufacturing, it can be used to sort goods and identify defects quickly, ensuring product quality. Businesses may deploy it for daily operational activities like predictive maintenance and inventory management. And you may even have this technology in your pocket: Google Lens, which enables image-based searches instead of text-based queries, uses a combination of computer vision and artificial intelligence.

18.And then there’s LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, which helps autonomous vehicles sense and understand their surroundings, using laser pulses that create 3D mappings of the environment. By providing real-time, high-resolution maps of the vehicle’s surroundings, LiDAR enables vehicles to detect obstacles, navigate complex environments, and make informed decisions on the road, thus ensuring the safety of passengers and other road users.

19.We must also speak about quantum technologies. The rise of data-intensive technologies like generative AI has sparked a global race for computing power. According to the International Energy Agency, a single ChatGPT query requires 2.9 watt-hours of electricity– almost ten times what a Google search needs.

20.Could quantum technology thus mark the next frontier of computing? In 2019, Google announced that its quantum computer solved a problem in 200 seconds that would have taken a classical computer 10,000 years. Just a year later, in 2020, the University of Science and Technology of China reported that its quantum computer performed in 200 seconds a calculation that would have taken 2.5 billion years for a supercomputer to complete. While the commercial readiness of quantum computing may still be years away, the potential it can unlock is immense.

21.Furthermore, as the world grows more digitally interconnected, the sophistication and scale of cyber threats increases in step. How can we secure the security and privacy of data flows in such a landscape?

22.Homomorphic encryption– an advanced cryptographic technique that allows data to be processed while remaining encrypted– could play an important role. This technology allows sensitive information, like personal or financial data, to be used for computations without ever exposing the actual content.

23.For example, a company could run calculations on encrypted customer data to generate insights without ever seeing the raw data itself– allowing value to be delivered without compromising the integrity of the data in use. This could be key to achieving zero trust.

24.These are just a few of the next-generation technologies that can shape our future– many more exist beyond our discussion today. The critical question now is how we begin this conversation. This is why we are here at MDX: it is a platform where we can discuss the opportunities and challenges that may lie ahead, in respect of these new technologies.

Foundations for a Future-Ready Malaysia.

25.In this spirit, I would like to highlight how the Ministry of Digital has already started laying the groundwork for a future-ready Malaysia.

26.AI, as we know, has the ability to transform our economy, government and society. It’s a fast evolving technology which requires a coordinated ‘all of nation approach’. This is the reason for the government agreeing to set up the National AI Office (NAIO).

27.NAIO is tasked to work on AI policy matters, as well as foster AI innovation and research on next generation AI technologies. These include enhanced learning algorithms, improved language processing, personalised applications, AI-driven cybersecurity capabilities and privacy-preserving techniques. These next generation technologies will enable systems to have better reasoning, visioning and decision-making capabilities, while providing increased security and data protection capabilities.

28.At the heart of all these technologies, both emerging or existing, lies data. This makes data regulation a central priority of the Ministry's efforts. We are guided by five key pillars: i. Data security ii. iii. iv. v. Data protection Data storage and management Data innovation Data governance.

29.Our goal is to bring these elements together under a new entity– the Digital Trust and Safety Commission. The Commission will oversee the development of a safe, secure, and trusted data ecosystem that fosters productive data flows. In this way, we hope to lay a robust foundation for the responsible and productive use of technology both now and in the future.

Future Technologies for the Greater Good.

30.Last but not least, I wish all delegates an enriching experience here at the summit and thank you again to the MDEC for having me here today.

Thank you.

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