Chor Yee Reen was initially sceptical about using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, mainly due to her non-IT background.
But the senior assistant director in the National Digital Department’s (JDN) human resources division soon realised AI could save her time – especially in transcribing and summarising minutes and reports.
She also learned that crafting the right prompts was key to maximising AI’s potential and saw how increased exposure to these tools could benefit public officers’ professional development.
Chor was among 200 civil servants who attended the ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programme from March 3-7 at Menara Usahawan in Putrajaya. Organised by the Digital Ministry, the programme aimed to upskill civil servants in using generative AI tools as part of the government’s push for digital transformation.
It is a key component of ‘AI At Work 2.0’ – an initiative following the first phase in August 2024. The participants, dubbed “Change Ambassadors”, came from various ministries and government agencies.
Sheila Mahalingam, a senior principal assistant secretary in the Digital Ministry, said AI had significantly improved her workflow. With AI-powered tools handling time-consuming tasks like data analysis, she could focus on higher-level strategic thinking and creative problem-solving.
For Mohd Fazli Sahari, AI has been a game-changer in processing large volumes of information. The head of JDN’s Integrity Unit, responsible for monitoring legal compliance and integrity issues, said AI allowed him to access the latest articles, journals, and sources more efficiently.
“AI has helped me work faster, with greater accuracy and precision. It ensures I provide detailed, up-to-date information – especially to higher management,” said Fazli.
As ‘Change Ambassadors’, the participants will be responsible for training their colleagues and driving AI adoption in their respective departments.
The first ‘AI At Work’ initiative last year saw 270 public officers from JDN taking part. Of them, 91 per cent reported saving an average of 3.25 hours per week on work. Encouraged by these results, the government expanded the programme to ensure widespread AI adoption across public service.
Launched on Feb 5 by Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, ‘AI At Work 2.0’ aims to equip 445,000 public officers with Google Workspace’s latest generative AI suite, Gemini. This is expected to improve service delivery and boost productivity across government agencies.
A joint effort between the Digital Ministry, Google Cloud, JDN, and the National AI Office, the ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programme focused on enabling public officers to utilise Gemini to generate content, summarise information, analyse data, and enhance meetings with AI-generated notes.
The ‘AI At Work 2.0’ initiative also builds on the Public Sector AI Adaptation Guidelines, launched on Feb 27. Developed by JDN and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, the guidelines ensure responsible and ethical AI adoption in the public sector.
The guidelines outline ethical principles, roles and responsibilities, risk management strategies, adaptation methods, and a self-assessment template to help agencies determine AI’s scope and impact in public service.
