Malaysia's AI growth must be green, intelligent and focused on real-world applications - Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Malaysia must turn its growing digital infrastructure and computing capacity into artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that deliver real-world value across the economy, while ensuring that its AI growth remains responsible and sustainable, said Minister of Communications Dato' Seri Fahmi Fadzil.

"The distinction we must now make is between having digital infrastructure and being a place where AI is developed, deployed and applied. That means using AI to make our semiconductor and electronics industries more productive, strengthen advanced manufacturing and logistics, improve supply chains, transform healthcare, support agriculture and deliver better public services," he said in his keynote address at the inaugural WAIC CONNECT Malaysia 2026.

"Our progress should not be measured simply by computing capacity but by the economic value and opportunities that we create from it. This is the ambition behind the Government's National AI Action Plan 2026-2030, or AI Nation 2030. We are targeting an additional 0.8 to 1.2 percentage points of annual GDP growth, equivalent to roughly RM13 billion to RM20 billion a year. We also aim to create 300,000 to 500,000 new AI-related jobs," he added.

He hoped the conference would help highlight areas that require greater attention as AI adoption accelerates, including ensuring that growth in AI creates opportunities for young people and supports job growth.

He also highlighted Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd's (Huawei Malaysia) support for the event and welcomed Huawei's goal of nurturing 30,000 Malaysian AI talents and developing 200 local AI partners over the next three years through engagements, knowledge transfer, and cloud and AI collaborations.

Looking beyond Malaysia's AI development, China's rapid advances in intelligent technologies offer another perspective on how AI is being translated into practical applications at scale.

"In the first half of this year, China exported over 10,000 smart bionic robots to more than 90 countries and regions. China's intelligent manufacturing is bringing unprecedented convenience and efficiency to a growing number of countries worldwide," said His Excellency Ouyang Yujing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia in his speech.

"As modern Chinese tech firms invest heavily in Malaysia's AI sector and data centre infrastructure, and as the universities from both countries speed up cooperative innovation in cutting-edge fields like AI and advanced engineering, AI is rapidly emerging as the dynamic new growth engine for China-Malaysia cooperation," he said.

President of Huawei Asia Pacific Region (Huawei APAC), Terry He said the Asia Pacific has a strategic role in shaping the intelligent future, with the region's diversity of languages, cultures, industries and development needs presenting an opportunity to develop AI that is better suited to local contexts.

"Malaysia, within APAC, holds a unique position. Geographically, it sits at the crossroads of East and West, connected by world-class submarine cables. In terms of computing power, Johor has become one of the fastest-growing AI data centre hubs in the world. On energy, Malaysia offers competitive and increasingly green power, partnering with major leaders generating their own energy for AI campuses. Malaysia is on track to host around two-thirds of ASEAN's data centre capacity by 2035. With these advantages, we believe Malaysia is well positioned to be not only an infrastructure leader, but also a regional AI hub, empowering AI development across the region," he said.

"Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to contribute in three key areas. First, we will strengthen the foundation for intelligence. Together with local partners, we will build secure, resilient, and green digital infrastructure across connectivity, computing, cloud, storage, and green energy. Second, we will accelerate AI adoption across industries by bringing AI into key sectors including telecommunications, public services, finance, healthcare, education, and SMEs to improve productivity and create tangible value for society. Third, we will build an open and trusted innovation ecosystem. We will connect global capabilities with local innovation, support Malaysian partners, developers, and startups, and further advance AI talent, responsible AI, cybersecurity, and secure digital infrastructure—helping take "Made by Malaysia" AI solutions to ASEAN and the world," he emphasised.

Also present were Kang Kai, Chief Commercial Official of Shanghai DLG WAIC Gravitational Co Ltd; Simon Sun, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei Malaysia); Yang Berbahagia Dato' Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, Honorary President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce and President of Malaysia-China Friendship Association and Abdul Karim Fakir Ali, Managing Director of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

WAIC Connect Malaysia 2026 is an international extension of China's flagship AI industry event, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). Held from September 7 to 8 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the event brought together AI companies, enterprises and ecosystem partners from China, Malaysia and other ASEAN markets under the theme "Innovating for a Green and Intelligent Malaysia".

Participants at the event included representatives from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Huawei APAC, Huawei Malaysia, Chinese AI enterprises along with more than 80 ecosystem partners and 1,000 industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The two-day conference comprised a main keynote conference, forums, an offsite exchange - WAIC City Walk - and an exhibition featuring more than 40 showcases.

Malaysia is now moving from building the foundations for AI to putting those capabilities into practice across industries, government and society. Against this backdrop, WAIC Connect Malaysia provides a platform for Malaysia, China and the wider ASEAN region to share experience, build partnerships and accelerate the practical adoption and development of AI.

SOURCE Huawei