NAIO Discussion Series Drives National AI Strategy

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 (Bernama) -- The National AI Office (NAIO), under the Ministry of Digital, has organised four strategic discussion sessions focusing on AI safety and security, policy and regulation, talent, as well as industry and advisory engagement.

The Digital Minister’s Office said the series marks a significant milestone in the development of the National AI Action Plan 2030 (2026-2030) and reflects Malaysia’s commitment to building a trusted, inclusive and innovation-based AI ecosystem.

“Each session involved representatives from the public and private sectors, academia, regulators, and industry groups to recalibrate policy direction and validate the core pillars of the plan ahead of its official launch.

“The AI safety and security session, chaired by Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, discussed Malaysia’s preparedness in addressing the growing threats related to AI, such as deepfakes, cyberattacks, biased algorithms, data privacy breaches, and misuse of generative AI,” it said in a statement today.

NAIO presented the safety components of the action plan, including a basic regulatory framework supported by voluntary guidelines, a tiered risk classification model aligned with international standards, risk monitoring functions, and incident response capabilities to track and manage AI-related harm.

Stakeholders in the AI policy and regulation session discussed a proposed tiered hybrid governance model featuring NAIO-led oversight, sector-specific mechanisms by relevant regulators, a mix of binding legal approaches (hard-law), market tools such as licensing and compliance assessments, and non-binding instruments (soft-law) including standards and circulars.

“The AI talent session emphasised efforts to strengthen the country’s AI talent pipeline from early education to workforce upskilling, including the integration of AI skills into primary and secondary education curricula, non-traditional and vocational talent pathways, aligning university curricula with industry needs, upskilling programmes for educators and AI scholarships, as well as initiatives to attract Malaysian talent abroad,” it said.

The industry and advisory session brought together leaders from the National AI Consortium (KAIN) and working groups to align the country’s AI strategy with industry needs, accelerate AI adoption by the corporate sector, increase investment in R&D and infrastructure, and strengthen talent–industry linkages.

“The outcomes of all four sessions will be translated into the final details of the National AI Action Plan 2030 to ensure it reflects a shared vision driven by practical expertise,” it said.

Meanwhile, NAIO head Sam Majid, in the same statement, said the series of discussions showed that the government, industry and society can create bold, balanced and forward-looking solutions for a safe, inclusive AI future rooted in the needs of the people and industry.

-- BERNAMA