Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In a concerted effort to advance the country’s digital transformation, the government of Malaysia, in collaboration with Google, has recently launched two new initiatives aimed at equipping Malaysian youth with cloud-native and AI-driven productivity tools.
This strategic move aligns with Malaysia’s MADANI Economy Framework, emphasising the government’s commitment to fostering artificial intelligence and enhancing public service delivery through technology.
For the first initiative, Google is set to collaborate with Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education to offer 161 public institutes of higher learning with up to 500 Google Career Certificate scholarships each until the end of 2024. These certificates, which can be completed within three to six months, are flexible, self-paced online training, with no prior experience required.
The second, on the other hand, focuses on boosting productivity across the public sector. This will be achieved through a collaborative endeavour with Jabatan Digital Negara, the government agency in charge of coordinating and implementing national and public sector digitalisation projects under the Ministry of Digital. The said effort aims to equip 445,000 public officers with Google Workspace tools.
Furthermore, these initiatives will enable public officers to accelerate policy development, budget planning, and public consultations through collaboration on tasks without switching between tools, and easily find information across internal document repositories using Google-quality search capabilities.
At the same time, it also aspires to utilise other embedded AI tools to streamline workflows and facilitate data-driven decision-making.
Talking about the initiative, Karan Bhatia, global head of government affairs and public policy at Google, said, “This is a significant step toward creating inclusive growth opportunities for more Malaysians and strengthening the country’s digital advancement—goals that were central to the strategic collaboration we signed with the Government of Malaysia late last year.”
“As governments around the world consider how they can make the most of the AI opportunity, Malaysia is embracing technology as a key driver of national competitiveness and spearheading secure and responsible AI adoption in the public sector. These initiatives have the potential to transform the way services are delivered for the benefit of all Malaysians while working to equip people with the digital skills they need,” added Karan.
Dato’ Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, minister of higher education, also shared, “Our collaboration with Google will equip Malaysian students of all backgrounds with essential skills to participate in and contribute meaningfully to our digital economy. In-demand skills in cloud computing, data analytics, cybersecurity, and AI, which can be acquired at no cost through the certificate programs offered by Google, will lead to stronger job readiness and a rise in income. This will also translate to higher job satisfaction for workers and a larger digital talent pool for Malaysia.
“We appreciate Google’s investments in Gemilang and Google Cloud Skills Boost and look forward to collaborating on more initiatives to support our workforce,” he emphasised.
Also commenting on the endeavour, Datuk Haji Rodzi bin Md Saad, secretary-general at the Ministry of Digital, said, “Strong inter-agency coordination is crucial for delivering responsive, high-quality public services that improve the lives of Malaysians. In line with the MADANI Economy Framework, our whole-of-government adoption of Google Workspace’s secure, cloud-based, and AI-powered capabilities will foster seamless real-time information exchange, enabling government agencies to work closer together toward optimal and effective public service delivery.”
