Beyond AI Adoption: Building the People and Capabilities to Shape Malaysia’s AI Future
Beyond AI Adoption Building the People and Capabilities to Shape Malaysia’s AI Future
Key figures at the AI untuk Rakyat launch (from left to right): Dato’ Nor Azmie Diron, Secretary General, Ministry of Economy; Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Economy; Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim; Dato’ Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Haji Abdul Aziz, Director General of Public Service; and AK Chong, Vice President of Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Operations, Intel Corporation, and Managing Director, Intel Malaysia, holding their AI untuk Rakyat badges as the official launch ceremony of the programme on 16 January 2024
10 October 2026 – At the Sunway-PAIR Forum 2026, MyDIGITAL Corporation’s Senior Director, Ellina Roslan, joined the panel on “AI, Leadership and the New Economy: Who Wins, Who Leads and What Comes Next” to share Malaysia’s perspective on what it will take to turn AI access into real value for businesses, government and society.
The discussion explored Malaysia’s journey towards becoming an AI Nation by 2030, the importance of scaling AI adoption, strengthening local capabilities and developing more Made by Malaysia solutions. The key message: technology alone will not determine who succeeds. What matters is how well we use it, the problems we choose to solve, and the human judgement we bring to the decisions that follow.
With many young people in the audience, Ellina left them with a reminder to stay curious, keep developing their critical thinking, and never let technology crowd out empathy and compassion. Build personal resilience, keep learning and bring the right attitude to every opportunity, because in an AI-enabled future, who you are will matter just as much as what you know.
And for those wondering where to start, Ellina had a practical suggestion: make the most of the learning opportunities available through Rakyat Digital. Malaysians aged 18 to 30 can access a free AI tool for three months through AI Untuk Rakyat, while the Global Learning Pass offers three months of access to Coursera’s 16,000+ courses and professional certificate programmes. With a MyDigital ID, Malaysians can register at rakyatdigital.gov.my and start exploring skills that can help them stay relevant and competitive in the evolving world of work.
The panel was moderated by Karen Lau, Chief Operations Officer of Sunway iLabs, and featured Dr Fairoza Amira Hamzah, President of Women in AI Malaysia and Co-founder of Ever AI Holdings and Hazfa Seri Utama; Kevin Khoo, Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Digital & Technology; and Jean Wang, Vice President for Education and Healthcare at Huawei APAC, alongside Ellina.
As Malaysia works towards becoming an AI Nation by 2030, building a future-ready society means investing not only in technology, but also in the people and capabilities that will shape how it is used.
Thank you to Coursera and Udemy for the opportunity to contribute to this conversation, and to fellow panellists Raja Singham (BAC Education Group), Usha Devi (UOB) and Janet Sng (OCBC), and moderator Ramya Srinivasan, for a thoughtful exchange.
Human skills. AI scale.
For MyDIGITAL Corporation, this is also a reminder of the role we play in supporting Malaysia’s digital transformation journey, not only in shaping plans, but in helping ensure that change is owned, embedded and able to evolve over time.