National AI Roadmap Malaysia (AI-RMAP 2021–2025)

The National Artificial Intelligence Roadmap 2021–2025, abbreviated AI-RMAP, is Malaysia's first comprehensive national strategy for artificial intelligence. Adopted by the Cabinet on 1 December 2021 and officially launched in August 2022, the roadmap is owned by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) as its principal implementation partner. AI-RMAP positions AI as a strategic enabler for the broader Malaysia Digital (MyDigital) blueprint and Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) and aims to place Malaysia among the top 20 nations on the Oxford Insights AI Government Readiness Index by 2025.

Vision and headline goals

The roadmap articulates a vision of "a sustainable AI innovation ecosystem that drives economic prosperity and social well-being" with Malaysia positioned as a regional AI hub. Five strategic thrusts structure the strategy: governance, ethics and regulation; data and talent; technology development and adoption; sectoral transformation; and international engagement. Key quantitative aims include contributing AI to gross domestic product growth, training a sizeable AI talent pool, and supporting domestic AI solution providers. The roadmap also sets a target of operationalising a National AI Office and a national AI ethics framework, both of which materialised in subsequent years.

Priority sectors and use cases

AI-RMAP focuses implementation on eleven national AI use cases distributed across five priority sectors. Agriculture and forestry covers precision agriculture, palm oil disease detection (supported by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board) and forestry monitoring. Healthcare addresses diagnostic AI, hospital operations and tropical disease surveillance led by the Ministry of Health and the Institute for Medical Research. Smart cities and transport target traffic management, urban planning and connected mobility coordinated with Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan and MyHSR Corp. Education covers personalised learning and AI literacy in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Yayasan Peneraju. Public services encompass citizen-facing chatbots, document processing and fraud detection led by MAMPU, the Department of Statistics Malaysia and the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).

Governance and institutional architecture

The roadmap follows a Quadruple Helix model that engages government, academia, industry and civil society. Coordination falls under MOSTI's National Science Council, with MDEC operating delivery programmes and the National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO), established in late 2024 under the Ministry of Digital, taking on day-to-day stewardship of national AI policy. The Malaysia AI Governance Framework, published in 2024, complements AI-RMAP with principles-based guidance for responsible AI development and deployment. The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) 2010, as amended in 2024, provides the data-protection backbone.

Funding and programmes

Investment commitments referenced under the roadmap and successor budgets include RM600 million for AI research and development, RM1 billion for a Strategic Investment Fund covering AI, robotics and Internet of Things, RM10 million for NAIO operations and RM50 million for AI education under Budget 2025. MDEC's Malaysia Digital Acceleration Grant — Artificial Intelligence (MDAG-AI) channels grants to small and medium enterprises, while HRD Corp underwrites workforce upskilling through accredited training providers including ALX Malaysia, Forward School in Penang and KESUMA-affiliated programmes.

Industrial impact

By 2025 the roadmap has helped catalyse substantial private and foreign direct investment. Microsoft committed USD 2.2 billion in 2024 for a Malaysia cloud and AI region centred on Bandar Enstek in Negeri Sembilan. Google announced its first Malaysian data centre region. AWS confirmed long-term commitments to its Malaysia infrastructure. YTL Power launched the YTL AI Cloud in Johor using NVIDIA H100 GPUs. Domestic banks Maybank, CIMB, RHB and Public Bank scaled internal AI deployment programmes aligned with Bank Negara Malaysia's Risk Management in Technology guidelines.

Looking forward

As the 2021–2025 horizon closes, MOSTI and the Ministry of Digital have begun work on a successor strategy covering 2026 onward, building on lessons from the first roadmap, the Malaysia AI Governance Framework and Malaysia's 2025 ASEAN chairmanship, during which Malaysia helped shape the regional ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics. AI-RMAP is implemented through a network of agencies and partners. MOSTI sets policy and approves national priorities. MDEC executes industry-facing programmes, including the Malaysia Digital status framework, MDAG-AI grants and the Center of Applied Data Science. NAIO, operational since late 2024, coordinates whole-of-government AI initiatives and represents Malaysia in international forums including the Global Partnership on AI, the OECD AI Policy Observatory and the United Nations AI Advisory Body. State digital agencies including Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC) and Penang Digital have run their own AI accelerator programmes aligned with AI-RMAP. Higher education institutions including Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia host roadmap-aligned research centres, with significant contributions in Bahasa Malaysia natural language processing, medical imaging, agricultural AI and AI ethics. Civil society engagement runs through bodies such as the Centre for Independent Journalism, Sinar Project and the Malaysian AI Society. The Bar Council Malaysia has contributed to discussions on AI liability and the interaction between the Malaysia AI Governance Framework, PDPA and consumer protection law. Penang-based industry players in semiconductor packaging, electronics manufacturing and ESG analytics — including domestic AITG Sdn Bhd and partners in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone — participate in MDEC and Penang Digital programmes that operationalise the roadmap at state level.

1. Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia. (2021). National Artificial Intelligence Roadmap 2021–2025. MOSTI.
2. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. (2024). Malaysia Digital Status and AI Programmes. MDEC.
3. Ministry of Digital Malaysia. (2024). Malaysia AI Governance Framework.
4. International Science Council. (2025). AI Case Study: Malaysia — Advancing with AI at the Fore.
5. Oxford Insights. (2024). Government AI Readiness Index.