This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 23, 2025 - June 29, 2025

The Ministry of Digital and the National Digital Department (JDN) have launched a non-citizen segment on the MyGovernment Portal.

Developed as a one-stop centre for non-citizens in Malaysia, the RAI Portal is where information and digital services are streamlined according to the needs of the individuals accessing the portal. It leverages the latest technologies such as responsive design, smart search, personalisation and guided topics.

The portal addresses the needs of non-citizen users across six components: Enter, Visit, Study, Work, Live and Invest. Visitors can access the portal for any information and services relevant to their needs, such as visa and permit requirements, study procedures, expatriate job opportunities and investment incentives available in Malaysia.

The RAI Portal assumes an important role in promoting Malaysia on the global stage and is aimed at strengthening the country as a preferred destination for tourists, investors and international talent. It also acts as the main platform to showcase Malaysia’s advantages and uniqueness to an international audience, thereby enhancing the nation’s image globally.

The development of the portal began in 2024 using an agile approach, focusing on user-centric services. An intensive study on user requirements was conducted to understand needs and gather accurate feedback.

The implementation of the RAI Portal is aligned with Malaysia’s role as Asean Chair in 2025 and supports Visit Malaysia 2026. JDN offers integration and consultation services to all agencies involved to ensure they receive support in enhancing digital services.

YouTube’s creator economy in Southeast Asia has reached a new milestone, with more than 7,600 channels boasting more than one million subscribers. Across the region — including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines — YouTube continues to drive video commerce growth, with creator-led content becoming central to brand engagement.

The platform has seen a surge in creator-driven video commerce, which now accounts for 20% of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce gross merchandise value — a fourfold increase in two years. YouTube’s recently launched Shopping feature, in partnership with Shopee, allows eligible creators to tag products directly in videos, streamlining the path from content to purchase.

Trust remains a key factor, with viewers across the region citing YouTube creators as more trustworthy than influencers on other platforms. Brands are leveraging this trust to reach highly engaged audiences, particularly Gen Z consumers.

Meanwhile, connected TV (CTV) viewership is growing rapidly, with YouTube reaching 79 million viewers on smart TVs across the region. Features such as shoppable ads and pause-screen interactivity are transforming traditional viewing into an immersive shopping experience.

Kaspersky released its annual report on children’s online behaviour, highlighting a sharp rise in interest in artificial intelligence (AI), viral memes and interactive rhythm games, underlining the need for proactive parental engagement and cybersecurity awareness.

The study, covering May 2024 to April 2025, found that YouTube remains the most-used app globally among children, while WhatsApp has overtaken TikTok for second place.

AI chatbots saw a notable spike in popularity, with Character.AI entering the top-used app list for the first time. Searches for AI tools more than doubled from the previous year, accounting for over 7.5% of all queries. However, concerns about unmoderated user-generated content on such platforms remain.

Viral trends also shaped children’s online culture. Memes like “tralalero tralala” and browser-based game Sprunki — which blends rhythm with fast-paced gameplay — have gained in popularity. YouTube search trends reflected a strong interest in both.

In Malaysia, YouTube, WhatsApp and TikTok topped the list of most-used apps, while games like Roblox and Mobile Legends were highly popular. Local children also engaged with creative tools such as IbisPaint X and AI chatbots.

Malaysian businesses have been hit with surging costs and supply chain disruptions, leading them to rethink their strategy and planned investments, as tariffs and shifting trade policies continue to impact their enterprises. This is according to the findings of HSBC’s 2025 Global Trade Pulse Survey, which found that the biggest concern currently for more than half of Malaysian businesses (55%) is rising costs due to tariffs and other trade-related factors.

In response to this, 42% of Malaysian businesses have shifted their focus to the domestic market, prioritising local customers and reducing international exposure, while 40% of businesses plan to do the same. In addition, 37% of Malaysian businesses have increased their inventory levels to manage supply disruptions, with 49% planning to do so as well.

Despite global uncertainties, 250 Malaysia-based companies surveyed were optimistic about their international growth but said they were in need of external strategic advice on the matter, while 91% of companies were confident they can grow international trade.

More encouragingly, 73% said trade uncertainty had encouraged their business to evolve and explore new opportunities while 55% were seeking strategic advice on international expansion, restructuring or supply chain realignment.

Considering the current trade dynamics, Malaysia-based businesses are adapting their trade strategy to significantly increase connections with China (61%), as well as South Asia (55%) and North Asia (44%). Beyond Asia, Malaysian businesses plan to trade more with Europe and the US (both 32%).

Datuk Omar Siddiq, CEO and head of banking at HSBC Malaysia, said that despite the challenges posed by the uncertain tariff and trade landscape, businesses in Malaysia are demonstrating resilience and adaptability in the way they operate.

“While supply chains may be further reconfigured, there continues to be strong potential for local companies to leverage Malaysia’s strong trade ties, particularly in Asia. Having said that, it is key to note that markets like the US remain key trade destinations for Malaysia’s high-value sectors such as electronics and semiconductors,” he added.

The survey also indicates that during this period of trade disruption, Malaysian businesses find cash and liquidity management to be the most helpful form of support in managing working capital (64%), followed by improved payment terms with buyers and suppliers (56%) and supply chain finance (55%).

“With over 70% of Malaysian businesses anticipating sustained cost increases from the impact of tariffs and trade uncertainty on the cost of doing business and businesses facing an average 18% drop in revenue, the imperative for strategic adaptation is clear,” said Omar.

To equip teachers with the tools to teach digital literacy, the national Future Skills For All (FS4A) programme is expanding through its new phase, Advancing FS4A — Selangor Scale Up, which is being rolled out across four districts in the state: Gombak, Petaling Utama, Petaling Perdana and Klang.

Officiated by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, the programme aims to empower educators to remain at the forefront of innovation and inspire the next generation in an increasingly digital world. He highlighted that over the past decade, the education sector has faced challenges in science, technology and mathematics, primarily due to a consumerist and secondary user approach to technology.

“This is a good step and the right alignment for us to ensure we understand and create technology, ensuring it remains a part of life rather than it controlling us,” he said.

The statewide initiative is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education (MoE), Unicef Malaysia, CelcomDigi Bhd, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Google, and is powered by Arus Academy.

This collaboration aims to strengthen the foundation of digital skills in schools and prepare teachers and students for an artificial intelligence-driven future, said CelcomDigi CEO Datuk Idham Nawawi. “In today’s digital-everything era, Malaysia must invest in building a digitally agile workforce capable of sustaining the nation’s ambitions for the next two to three decades, by empowering educators and students with essential digital skills,” he added.

Participating schools will receive a RM500 grant to run digital learning projects tailored to their students, said David Chak, co-founder and director of Arus Academy.

“We believe true education transformation only happens when grassroots implementation aligns with national policy and is supported by strong public-private partnerships. We are training teachers and selecting 12 schools to form the first cohort of FS4A cultivator schools, which will receive further training and personalised support,” he added. — By Ravinyaa Ravimalar

Financial technology company Xanderia Services Sdn Bhd has partnered with CXL Group, a human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions provider, to launch Kanz PaydayNow, an app that allows employees to access their earned wages before payday.

The initiative aims to help companies stay legal and organised by avoiding under-the-table loans and keeping employee payments clear and trackable. The platform also helps reduce the administrative burden on HR departments by eliminating manual salary advance requests.

The app consists of a digital attendance and wage access system, allowing companies to gather real-time data on employee attendance, cash flow needs and engagement trends for workforce planning and budgeting.

Kanz PaydayNow requires no onboarding or setup fees for companies. However, employees who would like to access their earned wages early from the platform will be charged a small transaction fee. — By Grace Yap

Sustainable material handling solutions company Jungheinrich has appointed Manojit Acharya as vice-president for Asia-Pacific. With over 25 years of experience in the industrial and material handling sectors, he brings a proven track record in strategic leadership, market expansion and deep customer insights and understanding of the diverse Asia-Pacific material handling market.

Manojit has spent the past decade significantly scaling and growing Jungheinrich India in both size and profitability. Since 2022, he had led the South Asia sub-region, including Thailand and the distributor network, driving strong regional performance.

Date: Friday, July 4

Time: 6pm to 12am

Venue: ASCARO Padel and Social Club, 1 Utama

Networking curation platform Just After Work and ASCARO Padel and Social Club are collaborating to host a friendly padel game for professionals and corporate decision-makers. This networking event aims to bring professionals under one roof and in a casual setting for them to unwind and network after work. As slots are limited, those interested in joining should RSVP by July 1 at https://tinyurl.com/43hxtchm.

The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanity’s written history spans only 5,000 years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more — or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering, or never live at all, depending on what we choose to do today.

In What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill argues for longtermism, that idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. From this perspective, it is not enough to reverse climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must ensure that civilisation would rebound if it collapsed, counter the end of moral progress and prepare for a planet where the smartest beings are digital, not human.

If we make wise choices today, our grandchildren’s grandchildren will thrive, knowing that we did everything we could to give them a world full of justice, hope and beauty. — Amazon

Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab has tested a new fighter jet that can utilise artificial intelligence to engage in combat. The test flights, conducted under Saab’s cutting-edge initiative Project Beyond, are a significant milestone in the evolution of AI integration into frontline combat aircraft.

The newly launched Amazfit Bip 6 is an everyday smartwatch that is designed to adapt effortlessly to dynamic lifestyles while offering exceptional value. Its vibrant 1.97in Amoled screen allows users to easily read in all lighting conditions. This lightweight smartwatch is also equipped with Amazfit’s best-in-class BioTracker technology, offering accurate measurements for heart rate, blood oxygen levels, stress, heart rate variability (HRV) and more.

Moreover, the smartwatch supports more than 140 fitness and lifestyle activities, including smart strength training, offline navigation, comprehensive sleep tracking and personalised AI coaching.

With up to two weeks of battery life and 5 ATM water resistance, the Amazfit Bip 6 can handle the tropical weather, beach holidays and daily workouts with no constant charging needed.

Amazfit is available online on Shopee and Lazada for RM379, with a limited time launch promotion of RM359, which includes a free jump rope (while stock lasts).

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.