IBM Malaysia Hopes For Stronger Push For AI In Budget 2026

By Nur Aiman Najwa Dzamae

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd hopes that the upcoming Budget 2026 will provide stronger and more targeted incentives for artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate digital transformation across key sectors of the economy.

Country general manager and technology leader Dickson Woo said the anticipated boost in incentives would encourage wider adoption of the technology, particularly within the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) sectors.

"With this stimulus budget coming in, it will help to accelerate the AI journey and take adoption to the next level.

“It will definitely impact the CNII sectors and many enterprises, including the banks, retail, government, and utilities. These are critical components for Malaysia and engines for growth," he told Bernama.

Woo noted that, apart from large enterprises, it is also important to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those in the digital and technology sectors, as many still struggle to afford major investments.

“Some SMEs may not be able to make large investments in buying assets and infrastructure. Access to cloud computing can also be quite limited. So with this budget, I think it will stimulate the adoption of digital strategies as well as AI among SMEs,” he noted.

He said that a greater focus on SMEs in the budget would help ensure that the benefits of digitalisation are shared more broadly by the rakyat.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister, is scheduled to table Budget 2026 in Parliament on Oct 10, 2025.

Anwar has been advocating the adoption of AI, with all these efforts forming part of preparations for Malaysia to become an AI-driven nation by 2030.

To that end, Malaysia will establish a sovereign AI cloud to support government services and the country’s digital development.

-- BERNAMA