From Hype to Strategy: Malaysia’s AIM Signals New Bet for AI Adoption

When Malaysia launched AI Malaysia (AIM) in May 2025, it wasn’t chasing a trend—it was responding to a wake-up call. For Nazir Razak, Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Malaysia (ASEAN-BAC), that call came during a high-profile AI conference in Singapore. He spent the entire day listening to consultants explain artificial intelligence to business leaders, only to conclude that “they knew just about as much as I did, which was very little.

That realisation, shared by Silverlake Axis founder Goh Peng Ooi, forms the foundation of AIM. The initiative was built on a simple but bold idea to help Malaysian businesses move beyond AI buzzwords and develop a genuine understanding of the technology. To make that point clear, AIM invited one of the field’s most influential minds, Professor Richard Sutton, to speak at its launch. Sutton, a 2024 Turing Award recipient and pioneer of reinforcement learning, delivered a powerful message, if Malaysia is serious about AI, it needs to learn from the source, not from recycled frameworks and corporate slides.

Source: ASEAN-BAC Malaysia

A Platform Born from Urgency, Not Optics

Malaysia has made meaningful progress in laying the foundations for AI. The launch of the National AI Office (NAIO) in late 2024 and the creation of a national AI Code of Ethics are just a few of the structural moves that signal the country’s commitment. But according to Nazir and Goh, these policy developments haven’t fully translated into real understanding within the private sector. For many businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), AI still feels more like a buzzword than a business tool.

This is the gap AIM intends to close. It positions itself as a bridge between strategy and application, helping businesses explore how AI can improve operations, increase competitiveness, and unlock new growth. Its scope includes encouraging cross-border collaboration in ASEAN, supporting targeted upskilling, and promoting practical AI adoption across industries.

There is also a deeper concern driving the initiative. Nazir has spoken of a “new form of colonialism happening”, warning that countries like Malaysia risk becoming digitally dependent on foreign tech giants if they fail to build their own capabilities. If Malaysian businesses rely entirely on tools they don’t understand and systems they can’t audit, they will lose control over critical parts of their operations. AIM, in this sense, is not just a business enabler but a safeguard for digital sovereignty.

In a Crowded Ecosystem, Can AIM Prove Its Value?

AIM enters a national landscape that is already crowded with digital initiatives. The National AI Office (NAIO) leads on public policy and strategy. Konsortium AI Negara (KAIN) represents local industry interests. Then there is MyDIGITAL, the AI Roadmap, AI untuk Rakyat, school-level training programmes like Cikgu Juara Digital, and significant investments from global players, who, within recent years, have committed billions to AI infrastructure and training within the nation.

While all this activity is encouraging, it also creates the risk of fragmentation. Without clear coordination, initiatives can begin to overlap, compete for resources, or simply confuse the businesses they aim to support. AIM arrives with strong intent but limited detail. It has yet to publish a formal governance model or define how it will measure success. Its relationship to existing government bodies also remains unclear.

This ambiguity could dilute its impact. If AIM becomes just another branded platform with limited follow-through, it will contribute to the noise rather than help businesses navigate it. To deliver real value, AIM must define its role sharply and support outcomes that businesses can see and feel. That means offering industry use cases, creating pilots that scale, and becoming a reliable feedback loop between the ground and national policymakers.

What’s at Stake? Capability or Dependency

AIM’s long-term impact won’t be measured by who attended its launch but by whether it helps Malaysian businesses become fluent in AI. The clock is ticking. Countries that build real AI expertise can leap ahead in global markets. Those that don’t risk falling into a cycle of permanent dependency on tools, platforms, and rules they didn’t create.

Malaysia has already positioned itself as a participant in ASEAN’s regional AI governance efforts. If AIM succeeds, it could serve as the private sector voice in shaping responsible and inclusive approaches to AI across Southeast Asia. But before it can play that role, Malaysia must first align its own AI ecosystem. That means removing duplication, streamlining partnerships, and ensuring public and private actors work towards common goals.

Nazir put it plainly, “Countries can leap because of technology, but the reverse is also true. Countries can be colonised if they don’t know what’s going on.” AIM will ultimately be defined not by its intentions but by the transformation it helps others achieve. If it can empower businesses to ask smarter questions, make informed decisions, and develop local AI talent, it will serve as a genuine catalyst for change.

AIM is, above all, a bet on deep understanding. In an era driven by speed and scale, that might be Malaysia’s most enduring strength.

The Uncommon Breed

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