Home Ministry mulls AI training for Immigration personnel at local universities
In his speech at Immigration Department Day 2025, he called on the department's human resources division to coordinate sessions with institutions such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) for such training.
"Send personnel to local university faculties in batches, such as UKM and UiTM.
"Give them the opportunity to attend one- to two-week sessions to gain knowledge of AI and develop the skills needed to use AI tools, which are evolving rapidly every day.
"These skills are necessary to leverage technologies that are advancing quickly. If we embrace AI today, we can keep pace. If we ignore it, we risk falling 30 years behind," he said.
Citing an example of technological advancement, Saifuddin said Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba manages a database of 800 million users and is capable of processing up to 230,000 transactions per second during special online sales.
"They don't have oil or gas resources, but they have mastered human capital. Through online sales, they can record 230,000 transactions in just one second," he said.
The minister also urged the Immigration Department to strengthen its commitment to integrity, describing it as the backbone of public service delivery under the Madani reform agenda.
"With reforms anchored on efficient governance, strengthened integrity, and impactful service delivery, I hope Immigration will uphold a zero-tolerance policy against corruption," he said.
He called for immediate and transparent action against any reported misconduct, supported by robust ethical practices within the department.
"If continuous training is needed (on AI), implement it. If collaboration with enforcement agencies like the police or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is necessary, pursue it. If an internal monitoring system is required, establish it," he said.
He also assured full support for efforts to strengthen integrity within the Immigration Department, aligning with the national leadership's call for a people-centric administration.
"If processes need improvement, simplify them. If systems need change, implement it. We remain the frontliners in delivering services to the people, and these efforts must move in tandem with ongoing developments," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BusinessToday
3 hours ago
- BusinessToday
Hong Kong's First Six Months Tourist Arrivals Up 12%
Hong Kong recorded about 24 million tourist arrivals between January and June, up 12 percent year-on-year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board announced on Saturday. In June alone, around 3.48 million arrivals were recorded, up 11 percent, with about 2.61 million visitors coming from the Chinese mainland. The data showed steady growth in visitor numbers during the first half of the year. Arrivals from the mainland totaled about 17.8 million, up 10 percent compared to the same period last year, while non-mainland visitors amounted to around 5.84 million, representing a 17 percent year-on-year increase. Among short-haul markets, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines recorded growth of 25 percent or more. For long-haul markets, visitor arrivals from Australia saw the sharpest growth, rising by 33 percent compared to the same period last year. To boost summer tourism and spending, the tourism board recently launched a summer-themed campaign, offering over 150 summer rewards and consumption perks to both locals and tourists. Related
Malaysiakini
5 hours ago
- Malaysiakini
Anwar respects right to assemble unlike Dr M, Saifuddin says
With the 'Turun Anwar' rally over, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail pointed to how differently the current administration treats public assemblies compared to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first term in office. 'The difference between Anwar's time and Mahathir's time is like heaven and earth.
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Trump tariffs leave costly China supply question unanswered; Indonesia among countries deeply affected
JAKARTA (Bloomberg): President Donald Trump's recent flurry of trade deals have given Asian exporters some clarity on tariffs, but missing are key details on how to avoid punitive rates that target China's supply chains. Trump unveiled tariffs of 20% for Vietnam and 19% for Indonesia and the Philippines, signaling those are the levels the US will likely settle on for most of Southeast Asia, a region that ships US$352 billion worth of goods annually to the US. He's also threatened to rocket rates up to 40% for products deemed to be transshipped, or re-routed, through those countries - a move largely directed at curbing Chinese goods circumventing higher US tariffs. But still unclear to manufacturers is how the US will calculate and apply local-content requirements, key to how it will determine what constitutes transshipped goods. South-East Asian nations are highly reliant on Chinese components and raw materials, and US firms that source from the region would bear the extra tariff damage. That's left companies, investors and economists facing several unanswered questions about Trump's tariffs that appear aimed at squeezing out Chinese content, according to Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore. "Is that raw materials? All raw materials? Above a certain percentage?' she said. "How about parts? What about labor or services? What about investment?' In an agreement with Indonesia last week, the White House said the two countries would negotiate "rules of origin' to ensure a third country wouldn't benefit. The deal with Vietnam earlier this month outlined a higher 40% tariff rate for transshipped goods. And Thai officials, who have yet to secure a deal, detailed that they likely need to boost local content in exports to the US. Missing Details The Trump administration isn't providing much clarity on the matter right now. US officials are still working out details with trading partners and looking at value-based local content requirements, to ensure exports are more than just assembled imported parts, according to a person familiar with the matter, who didn't want to be identified discussing private talks. A senior Trump administration official also said this week that details on the approach to transshipment are expected to be released before Aug. 1, the deadline for when higher US tariffs kick in. Some factories are already adjusting their supply chains to comply with rules that will require more locally-made components in production. Frank Deng, an executive at a Shanghai-based furniture exporter with operations in Vietnam - and which gets about 80% of business from the US - said in an interview his firm is making adjustments as authorities appear to be more strictly enforcing country-of-origin rules. Vietnam has always had specific local content requirements for manufacturers, Deng added, including that a maximum of 30% of the volume of raw materials originates from China, and the value after production in Vietnam must be 40% higher than the imported raw materials. "We've been struggling to meet all the standards so that we can still stay in the game,' Deng said. "But I guess that's the only way to survive now.' For most of Southeast Asia, reducing the amount of Chinese-made components in manufacturing will require a complete overhaul of their supply chains. Estimates from Eurasia Group show that Chinese components make up about 60% to 70% of exports from Southeast Asia - primarily industrial inputs that go into manufacturing assembly. About 15% of the region's exports now head to the US, up about four percentage points from 2018. Local Content The US has become increasingly vigilant about China's ability to bypass US trade tariffs and other restrictions through third countries since Trump's first trade war in 2017. Thailand signaled its frustration over the lack of clarity for how much local content is needed in goods exported to the US to avert transshipment rates, but noted it will likely be much higher than a traditional measure of 40%. "From what we've heard, the required percentage could be significantly higher, perhaps 60%, 70%, or even 80%,' Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said July 14. "Emerging countries or new production bases are clearly at a disadvantage,' he said, as their manufacturing capabilities are still at an early stage and must rely on other countries for raw goods. Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have all taken steps this year to address Trump's concerns, increasing scrutiny of trade that passes through their ports including new rule-of-origin policies that centralize processing and imposing harsh penalties on transshippers. Developing nations may still struggle to enforce Trump's rules or comply with the rules if it means going up against China, their largest trading partner and geopolitical partner. "The reality is it's not enforceable at all,' said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group. "Chinese companies have all kinds of ways to get around it and those other countries have no incentive to enforce those measures, or capacity to collect the data and determine local content.' -- Reports from Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Skylar Woodhouse and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
