PUTRAJAYA: The government will expedite the allocation of between RM30 million and RM40 million to train young civil servants in specific fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and energy transition, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the training for civil servants is seen as an urgent need since the country is highly dependent on external consultants, which is very costly.
He added that at a recent meeting with the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, and the director-general of Public Service (KPPA), Datuk Seri Dr Zulkapli Mohamed, he decided that sufficient allocations should be given to young and experienced workers to gain special training and exposure either at private companies or leading universities.
“It’s better for us to spend more to train civil servants than settle for short-term solutions by appointing foreign consultants at a high cost,” he said when speaking at the Public Sector Premier Innovation Award (AIPSA) 2023 ceremony here today.
Anwar said he had also asked the KPPA to expedite the implementation of new training for civil servants, in addition to setting aside bureaucratic rules to speed up that goal.
Anwar also proposed other new fields that could be explored, such as digital transformation, food technology, cybersecurity, military and national border issues.
Anwar also recalled his visit to Abu Dhabi in October, when he also visited the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), which specialises in the field of AI.
“For our country, I had suggested to the Education Minister (Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin) to set up an AI faculty in UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) as preparation for the next few years,” he said.
Anwar, when tabling Budget 2024 on Oct 13, announced that Malaysia would set up its first AI study centre, namely the AI Faculty in UTM, with an initial allocation of RM20 million to boost the exploration of the field across disciplines.–Bernama
