PETALING JAYA: The National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom) has been urged to serve as an active sounding board to streamline bureaucratic friction and ensure national digital blueprints translate into reality.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said Pikom has long served as the voice of Malaysia’s technology industry, but that voice must now evolve into an active driver of policy and execution.
Gobind’s speech at the Pikom Digital Excellence Awards 2026 at the Sunway Resort Hotel on Sept 10 was read by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah.
“Government policies set the trajectory, but the private sector dictates the velocity. Pikom is uniquely positioned to help the government accelerate its digital ambitions,” Gobind said.
“This does not mean simply waiting for incentives; it means co-designing real-world regulatory environments with policymakers so emerging artificial intelligence (AI) models and sovereign algorithms can be tested safely and deployed at scale.
“It also means structuring direct industry-led training pipelines that bridge academia and real-world deployment, ensuring our workforce is fluent in advanced AI development, cybersecurity frameworks and data governance,” he added.
Putrajaya aims to turn Malaysia into an AI nation by 2030.
Gobind added that AI and advanced digital integration were not reserved for multinational corporations.
“For a micro, small or medium enterprise (MSME), adopting AI-driven supply chain management, automated inventory systems or predictive customer analytics is a matter of survival.
“We must create an ecosystem where local enterprises do not view technology with apprehension, but as an immediate equaliser. When our traditional sectors operate on intelligent digital foundations, the aggregate efficiency of Malaysia’s entire economy shifts upward,” he added.
Ahead of the tabling of Budget 2027, Gobind urged business owners and technology leaders to share their views on the Budget 2027 proposal website.
“We must move away from passively waiting for fiscal allocations. The industry must proactively dictate what is required to win.
“If we are serious about becoming owners of the digital space, here is what we, as an industry, must propose and demand in Budget 2027,” he added.
