With Malaysia being the chairman of ASEAN this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the country aims to prioritise energy and connectivity with a focus on building trust and inclusivity among member countries as well as engaging constructively with major global powers while safeguarding the bloc’s independence.
“The understanding of consensus is to focus on energy in a more pragmatic way to resolve not only our economic demands because of the huge interest that the sectors are in place but also because the requirements for water and electricity are now critical.
“We have to address that and deal with climate issues, notwithstanding what others think or feel. We in ASEAN believe that this is our priority. This is something that is critical for our future,” he said, adding that while the ASEAN member countries focus on connectivity, digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) to promote better understanding among themselves, the fundamental focus is still about the economy.
Apart from that, the prime minister also highlighted that ASEAN is concerned about the principle of inclusivity, where countries are not neglected.
“We engage and formulate policies that will benefit each other. If you do not cater for that, then there will not be peace and tranquility among neighbours,” he stated.
As such, Malaysia’s political stability and clear policy prescriptions in the MADANI Economy framework have encouraged big players in the AI industry to invest in the country, as the government has provided enough incentives to attract big players from the United States (US), Europe and China to make similar investments.
Along with the progress of AI, he called for a comprehensive approach to integrating AI into Malaysia’s national framework, emphasising the urgency of establishing robust AI legislation, a national AI office and data protection measures.
“We have to navigate – (through) the National AI Office, legislation, data protection and whatever it takes to make sure that we are fully equipped.
“AI means changing the education system, health services, blockchain. It will have to come about and we are pushing it at a faster pace,” Anwar said.
