KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): In Malaysia, capability alone does not guarantee that you will win government contracts. It is often who you know — those close to the government of the day.

The fight for control of NexG Bhd (KL:NEXG) — the company which has a RM2.5 billion contract to supply passports, MyKads and other identification documents — has taken on a life of its own, with so many allegations and questions being raised on the supposed involvement of the authorities, specifically Bukit Aman’s Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) Special Task Force which is said to be working hand in glove with members of the alleged 'corporate mafia', and the presence of at least two individuals — Datuk Farhash Wafa Zalvador Rizal Mubarak and Datuk Ishak Ismail — supposedly closely aligned to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Whether they are at opposing ends is not clear, and whether Ishak is on his own or aligned to others remains to be seen.

Also involved in the tussle are Victor Chin Boon Long, a former chief operating officer of NexG, and deputy executive chairman and group chief executive officer Datuk Abu Hanifa Noordin who may have staved off an attack by the 'corporate mafia'.

But not all is well at NexG. The company’s reputation has taken a hit, and it is saddled with a 9.52% stake in MMAG Holdings Bhd (KL:MMAG) and 32.61% of NexG Bina Bhd (KL:NEXGBINA) acquired from Chin’s wife and Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd (KL:HONGSENG) which had in turn acquired the bulk of its shares from Chin’s wife again. And these investments are underwater and the companies are not performing.

Chin meanwhile also has to grapple with his bank and CDS accounts being frozen, despite being in the faction with control of NexG, and contend with the continuous threats targeting him. While Chin may have won the battle for NexG there is still a dark cloud looming over the company.

Read more on the NexG saga in The Edge’s Cover Story 1 in this week’s issue.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, OpenClaw — the free and open-source artificial intelligence (AI) agent with the red lobster logo — has quickly become the latest talking point in the tech world.

Unlike earlier tools, OpenClaw does not just answer questions. It carries out tasks by serving as an agentic interface for autonomous workflows across supported services.

Notably, Austrian computer programmer Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, had last month joined OpenAI — the San Francisco-based AI firm that created ChatGPT — while OpenClaw remains as an open-source project backed by the same firm.

Today, the global AI race is very much dominated by the American and Chinese giants such as OpenAI, Nvidia and Amazon, alongside Tencent, DeepSeek and Alibaba.

As these companies are shaping the future and direction of AI, where does this leave Malaysia?

For years, the country has built a strong position in semiconductor manufacturing, especially in assembly, testing and packaging. But as AI takes centre stage, where does this leave us?

Is Malaysia too far down the value chain? Will it be left behind as the industry moves up?

The answer is not so straightforward.

AI does not run on software alone. It needs semiconductor devices, data centres, cloud systems and a wide range of engineering support. These are the less visible layers — but they are critical, and they are areas where Malaysia already has a foothold.

More importantly, the next phase of AI is not just about building models. It is about using them — in factories, banks, hospitals and public services. This is where real value is created and it opens up a different path.

Instead of chasing global AI champions, Malaysia could focus on applying AI to real business problems, while strengthening its role in the wider ecosystem.

But doing so will require change — in how companies invest, how industries work together, as well as how AI and electronics talents are trained from the ground up.

In Cover Story 2, The Edge spoke to a number of industry experts including Agmo Holdings Bhd (KL:AGMO) chief executive officer and Konsortium AI Negara (KAIN) founding member Tan Aik Keong, Taylor’s Education Pte Ltd president Karl Engkvist, Tencent Cloud International’s Southeast Asia regional director Kenneth Siow and PEOPLElogy Bhd (KL:PEOPLE) founder Allen Lee to get their views.

The Edge also highlights Hartamodal Sdn Bhd’s strategic investment in NEUON AI Sdn Bhd, a Sarawak-based AI solutions company that developed a road asset management platform that is now actively deployed by government agencies.

To find out more, grab a copy of The Edge Malaysia weekly today.

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