Google and MY government to reportedly collaborate to provide digital growth opportunities for Malaysians

The Malaysian government and Google have reportedly inked a strategic collaboration aimed at creating inclusive growth opportunities for Malaysians and local companies. The collaboration seeks to help businesses to advance their digital competitiveness through upskilling programmes, investments in digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, and cloud-first policies, according to a report by The Star.

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The collaboration will reportedly bring five digital learning paths to Malaysians through Google Cloud, CloudMile, and Trainocate, at no cost. This is to make training opportunities accessible to Malaysians across all backgrounds.

The collaboration comes in line with the Malaysian government’s Madani Economy framework and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030). The Madani framework, which was announced in July 2023, aims to restructure the Malaysian economy to be a leading one in Asia, as well as providing Malaysians with a better quality of life. Meanwhile, NIMP 2030 aims to transform the manufacturing industry by capitalising on global trends and encouraging collaboration between the government and the private sector. A+M has reached out to Google for more information.

This follows Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to San Francisco last week for the thirtieth APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM), where he met with technology giants including Google, Enovix Cooperation, Microsoft, and TikTok. According to a press release seen by A+M, these companies acknowledged that they will extend investments in Malaysia on a large scale during the meetings.

“A stable political system and clear policies are among the important factors for them to invest in Malaysia,” said Anwar. “The approval process will also give them confidence. The speed of the presence of new investors will give Malaysia a new record,” he added. Google was represented by its president and chief investment officer, Ruth Porat, during the meeting.

The partnership comes amidst Malaysia’s recent cooperations with international technology corporations. In March this year, Amazon Web Services (AWS), subsidiary of Amazon.com that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms, announced its plans to launch an AWS infrastructure region in Malaysia.

The launch aims to give developers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and non-profit organisations a greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centres located in Malaysia. In a statement to the press, AWS’ commitment includes a plan to invest approximately RM 25.5 billion in Malaysia by 2037.

Meanwhile, an exemption was reportedly given to Starlink by the Communications and Digital Ministry through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Under this exception, Starlink was permitted to provide satellite internet services to Malaysian users.

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