Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — At the time when ASEAN is exploring a pivotal turning point for its digital future, the high-level symposium "ASEAN Digital Transformation" was grandly convened in recent days. Jointly hosted by AsiaInfo Technologies and Malaysia Nagara Development Holdings Sdn, with support from Malaysia's National ICT Research Center and Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the event gathered officials from Malaysian national ministries and Kuala Lumpur City Hall, diplomatic envoys from various countries such as Indonesia and the UAE accredited to Malaysia, and senior executives from multinational corporations.
Figure: Officials from Malaysian national ministries and Kuala Lumpur City Hall pose for a photograph with diplomatic envoys attending the symposium
The event focused on Malaysia's AI infrastructure & applications and other topics, unveiling the ambitious "Malaysia Pilot National-level AI Infrastructure Initiative". As the first step toward building a highly integrated national-level AI governance framework, this initiative will initially cover Malaysia's major cities including Kuala Lumpur, delivering universal AI services across healthcare, education, social welfare, agriculture, urban governance and other domains. All IT systems will comply with Malaysia's digital security standards, maintain sovereignty under Malaysian jurisdiction, and undergo localized management. Upon implementation, Malaysia will emerge among the world's pioneers in deploying AI technology for cross-ministerial integration and nationwide governance.
Haji Muhammad bin Hamim, Director of Kuala Lumpur City Planning Project Agency, stated that, Malaysia possesses considerable population and data resources, and sustains robust development momentum. In the future AI era, Malaysia aims to position itself as ASEAN's neural center for AI.
Datuk Abdul Rashid Ghani, President of Nagara Development Holdings Sdn and recipient of the "Lifetime Reformer" award, stated in his speech: As the rotating Chair of ASEAN, Malaysia must actively respond to the call of supreme ruler Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar—"Now is the time for Malaysia to rise!"—and seize the historic opportunity presented by AI! China's Shanghai, with a population comparable to Malaysia's, has achieved remarkable outcomes in the AI field. This serves as a reference for Malaysia.
Figure: Abdul Rashid Ghani is delivering a speech
Zhang Lei, General Manager of International Business at AsiaInfo Technologies, stated that, Malaysia serves as an important foothold for AsiaInfo Technologies' global expansion. Leveraging the capabilities in consulting & planning, product R & D, implementation and delivery, system integration, intelligent decision-making and data operation, AsiaInfo Technologies will continuously deepen collaboration with Nagara Development Holdings to advance Malaysia's comprehensive digital intelligence transformation.
Figure: Zhang Lei is delivering a speech
Dr. Zhu Jun, Chief Data Intelligence Architect at AsiaInfo Technologies, was invited to present AI service practices. He asserted that Malaysia embraces a unique historic opportunity to achieve leapfrog development through AI, enabling efficient construction of a future-oriented backbone network. He emphasized that AsiaInfo Technologies will engage deeply in Malaysia’s AI development while fully respecting its data sovereignty.
Figure: Zhu Jun is delivering a speech
The participating parties reached consensus on priority items under "Malaysia Pilot National-level AI Infrastructure Initiative", launching collaborative mechanisms including technical feasibility investigations and ministerial working conferences. In the future, AsiaInfo Technologies will work together with all partners to dedicate efforts to advancing this initiative.
