Anwar urges Asean to define global AI future through regional principles, ethics
He said the bloc's 700 million citizens, fast-growing digital economy and cultural diversity placed it in a unique position to bridge development gaps, empower small businesses, uplift rural communities and strengthen public services through AI.
'Our vision must be to harness AI not simply to catch up with the rest of the world, but to lead it — offering a model of innovation grounded in trust, rooted in equity and proudly shaped by Southeast Asian values,' he said in his keynote address at the Asean AI Malaysia Summit 2025 at Mitec here.
Anwar said the true measure of AI's success should be its ability to meaningfully improve lives in a sustainable, inclusive and just manner, rather than the sophistication of its technology.
He also outlined Malaysia's 'AI Nation Framework', introduced under the recently launched 13th Malaysia Plan, which he said would ensure AI works for all Malaysians by powering better governance, sparking innovation and improving livelihoods nationwide.
He said the framework is built on five pillars — forward-looking policies; an agile and digitally fluent workforce; secure and reliable digital infrastructure; the advancement of digital trust; and strategic investments to grow a thriving AI ecosystem through public–private partnerships and global collaboration.
'This is more than a roadmap. It is a movement. The Ministry of Digital, with the National AI Office at its core, will lead this initiative. Once, highways and ports powered our economic rise,' he said.
'Now we will build intelligent highways, secure data pipelines, future-ready talents and ethical guardrails for AI,' he added.
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