KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): The government will provide another 100,000 free artificial intelligence (AI) service subscriptions to youths, following encouraging take-up of the existing programme, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said when tabling Budget 2027 in Parliament on Friday.

The existing AI Untuk Rakyat programme – rolled out on Aug 31 – offers free three-month AI subscriptions to 100,000 Malaysians aged 18 to 30 who complete a course on the Rakyat Digital portal.

Anwar said the government would also expand digital learning opportunities through Rakyat Digital, which provides free access to more than 16,000 courses and professional certificate programmes on Coursera from leading universities and industry organisations worldwide.

He also announced an allocation of RM6 billion to intensify research, development and commercialisation of innovations across ministries.

Government agency AI Malaysia Bhd will receive almost RM15 million to promote safe and ethical AI adoption, in support of the government’s target of developing 200,000 AI-skilled workers.

Separately, he said the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp will allocate RM30 million to help 4,000 micro, small and medium enterprises adopt AI and automate their operations. 

The programme will also train and certify 5,000 AI professionals.
 
On cybersecurity, Anwar said Malaysia had achieved Tier 1 status, the highest level of readiness for the transition to post-quantum cryptography, which is a new generation of cryptographic algorithms meant to protect against attacks by quantum computers.

“The National Cyber Security Agency and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will develop home-grown data protection technologies to counter threats from quantum computers, while strengthening CSCDC Bhd’s capabilities.

“Meanwhile, MyDigital ID has recorded more than 14 million registered users logging in across 203 public and private services, helping Malaysians conduct their affairs securely,” he added.