AI Training, MSME Guidance And Quality Internet Connectivity Key To Effective Digitalisation

By Mohd Afiq Zulkifli and Mohd Basir Roslan

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- The expansion of access to artificial intelligence (AI) and internet coverage under Budget 2027 must be accompanied by practical training, implementation guidance and quality services to ensure that the public and businesses derive tangible benefits from digitalisation.

Persatuan Industri Komputer dan Multimedia Malaysia (PIKOM) chairman Alex Liew said the additional 100,000 free AI subscriptions and the RM30 million fund allocated by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to help 4,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) adopt AI and automation could lower cost barriers and accelerate the adoption of the technology.

“However, free subscriptions should be viewed as an entry point. Productivity will only improve when AI is used to solve specific business problems and integrated into work processes.

“The main barriers are a lack of knowledge on choosing suitable AI applications, disorganised data, time and manpower constraints, as well as the cost of integrating solutions with existing systems. Many small businesses also need guidance on customer data confidentiality, cybersecurity and how to verify the accuracy of AI-generated outputs,” he told Bernama.

Liew proposed practical sector-specific training and follow-up guidance over three to six months, with outcomes measured based on order processing time, customer response time, error rates, operating costs and changes in sales.

Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Digital Technology Centre director Prof Dr Mohamad Hanif Md Saad proposed making structured AI training a prerequisite for access to free or sponsored subscriptions. The training should cover the fundamentals of generative AI, prompt-writing skills and ethical use, including data security, privacy and copyright.

He said this would ensure that access was granted to users who would make full use of the government-sponsored subscriptions.

“An important fact that needs to be emphasised is that AI serves as a productivity assistant, not a replacement for human expertise,” he said.

Mohamad Hanif said users needed basic knowledge of the relevant fields to identify errors in AI-generated responses, while MSMEs could use the technology to generate documents and marketing materials, as well as automate customer enquiries and document processing.

Meanwhile, Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Yap Yoke Har said expanding internet coverage to Orang Asli settlements and underserved areas was crucial to bridging the digital divide. She said connectivity must be of good quality, stable, affordable and secure, regardless of users’ location or background.

Yap said the largest category of complaints received by CFM involved bills and charges arising from service disruptions or unsatisfactory service quality, and expressed confidence that the initiative to expand coverage would help reduce consumer complaints.

She said CFM would continue to empower consumers through education on their rights, responsibilities and complaint channels, while supporting the Safe Internet Campaign and strengthening cooperation with government agencies and service providers to reach more communities.

Meanwhile, Siti Nurliza Samsudin, technology officer at Sinar Project, a Malaysian civic technology initiative advocating transparency and digital rights, said the success of the government’s digital and AI initiatives should be measured by how effectively they address the problems they are intended to solve, rather than solely by the number of users.

“For the Rakyat Digital platform, for example, the assessment could look at whether young users gain better employment or education opportunities. For MSMEs, the indicators could include whether the use of AI helps increase profits and support business sustainability,” she said.

She also stressed the need for comprehensive data governance, including reporting data leakage incidents and promptly notifying affected users so that they could take protective measures.

-- BERNAMA