The Malaysian government officially launched the National AI Office (NAIO) which is a brand-new agency under the Ministry of Digital (MoD). NAIO made it into the headlines earlier this year after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim highlighted its creation during the tabling of Budget 2025.
During the Budget 2025 announcement, Anwar also revealed that RM10 million has been allocated to establish NAIO. The agency is currently being led by Shamsul Izhan (Sam) Abdul Majid, previously the Chief Technology and Innovation Officer of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Is there a need to establish NAIO?
Optics-wise, it goes without saying that the establishment of NAIO generally signals the seriousness of the Malaysian government towards AI. This is especially true given the vast opportunities that it may provide concerning the digital economy.
However, there are various factors that the government need to consider. Hence, it believes that there is a need to have a centralised outfit that overlooks all matters related to AI.
In general, NAIO will help promote and accelerate AI adoption as well as drive investments, innovations and collaborations within the AI space. At the same time, the agency will also be responsible for formulating and advising the government regarding policies and regulations that are related to AI.
NAIO is not the gatekeeper of AI in Malaysia…for now
Despite being designated as the new central body for AI in the country, Sam was quick to point out during the pre-launch media briefing that NAIO is not the gatekeeper of AI in Malaysia. Well, that is at least for the time being.
At the moment, NAIO is not a stand-alone agency. Instead, NAIO is being “incubated” under another MoD’s agency, MyDigital Corporation for the next 12 months. Sam noted that the incubation time will be a crucial period for NAIO to set the agency’s future position and path.
Adrian Marcellus, the CEO of MyDigital during the fireside chat session this morning also pointed out that the long-term structure of NAIO will be determined during the incubation period. This includes whether NAIO will move on to become a stand-alone agency or even a statuary body with regulatory power.
Essentially, this “incubation” period is meant to allow NAIO to get things running immediately while MyDigital is assisting with the administrative side. All in all, it is still early days for NAIO.
Here’s the list of NAIO’s deliverables for the next 12 months
Despite still in its infancy, NAIO already has a huge workload waiting for it. Here are the deliverables that the new agency has to sort out within the next 12 months:
- AI Technology Action Plan 2026 – 2030
- AI Adoption Regulatory Framework
- Acceleration of AI Technology Adaptation
- AI Code of Ethics
- AI Impact Study for Government
- National AI Trend Report
- Datasets Related to AI Technology
Sam also said that NAIO will be looking into AI Sandbox although he made it clear that the organisation is not here to reinvent the wheels and will collaborate with existing initiatives regarding this matter. In addition to that, NAIO will also be involved in shaping the National Large Language Models (LLM) Strategy.
