PM Anwar says Malaysia must embrace AI while preserving religion, culture, and moral values for a MADANI nation.
CYBERJAYA: Advances in technology and artificial intelligence (AI), which are the drivers of national development, need to be balanced with efforts to preserve religion, culture, moral values and national identity so that these values are not eroded, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said Malaysia must continue to embrace and master AI to remain globally competitive, while strengthening the human values which are the foundation of building a MADANI nation.
“AI and technological advancement may enable us to reach for the skies, but we must not allow our religion, culture and moral values to be eroded. We must remain firmly grounded.
“We should aspire to the heights achieved by advanced nations while staying rooted in our identity, culture, ethics and faith. That is the new challenge we face,” he said at the launch of AI Malaysia, a national AI entity under the Digital Ministry.
Present were Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said AI adoption must begin with the education system by introducing students to the technology from school level, while strengthening STEM education, TVET, teacher training and supporting infrastructure.
“I told the Ministry of Education this morning to prepare the country by strengthening STEM and TVET, and by introducing AI exposure in schools to achieve the objectives of AI Malaysia,” he said.
He noted that the Digital Ministry would spearhead efforts to accelerate AI adoption across government ministries, departments and agencies. Anwar also called on universities to strengthen their AI faculties, departments and research centres to ensure graduates possess skills that meet global industry demands.
He said feedback from leading technology companies, including Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, Huawei and Ericsson, indicated that the skills of Malaysian graduates still need to be enhanced through closer collaboration between academia and industry.
However, Anwar stressed that while meeting industry needs, Malaysia must continue to produce graduates with strong ethical values and a sense of humanity.
“Other countries may also face challenges to their humanity. For Malaysia, as a multiracial nation, if religion and human values are eroded, the country will suffer because people will lose their human dignity,” he said.
On the country’s AI development agenda, Anwar said Malaysia should fully harness local expertise by empowering universities, educational institutions and the private sector to develop home-grown AI technologies and solutions.
“We have moved beyond talking about ‘made in’ Malaysia. Now we must focus on ‘made by’ Malaysia by supporting universities, educational institutions and the private sector to develop our own capabilities,” he added.
