Microsoft welcomes Budget 2027’s focus on accelerating Malaysia’s AI Nation ambition

On 9 October 2026, the Malaysian Government announced Budget 2027, outlining measures to accelerate AI adoption, strengthen digital infrastructure and build an AI-ready workforce as Malaysia advances towards its AI Nation 2030 ambition.

In response to the announcement, Laurence Si, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia, welcomed the Government’s continued focus on building the foundations of a competitive and inclusive AI economy, particularly through support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), investment in digital infrastructure and AI skills development.

Commenting on Budget 2027, Laurence said:

“Budget 2027 sends a clear signal that Malaysia is serious about turning its AI Nation 2030 ambition into reality. We welcome the Government’s continued focus on building the foundations of a competitive and inclusive AI economy, from providing businesses with support as they adopt AI, to investments in digital infrastructure and building AI-ready talents.

“We are particularly encouraged by the attention to Malaysia’s economic backbone: small and medium enterprises. The RM30 million MDEC fund to enable 4,000 SMEs to adopt AI and automation is an important initiative, and the dividends depend on what comes next: SMEs using AI to raise productivity, launch new products and services, and compete beyond our borders. Resilience, security, and clear, trusted rules for data will help SMEs adopt AI with confidence, while Malaysia’s work with ASEAN member states on cross-border cloud and data can open regional markets to local businesses. When AI allows SMEs to move securely from click-and-mortar to agentic commerce, the gains will be shared across the whole economy.

“As we continue to scale Microsoft Elevate, our whole-of-nation AI skilling initiative, launched with Majlis TVET Negara and the Ministry of Digital earlier this year, we welcome the Government’s efforts to expand capacity building at the community level with the goal of equipping Malaysians with AI skills and producing prompt engineers through the 1 NADI 1 Prompt Engineer initiative. AI transformation is underpinned by skills transformation, and these measures will play an important role in catalyzing the development of our AI and digital talent across the country. 

“The next phase of Malaysia’s AI journey will be about translating AI adoption into meaningful outcomes for businesses, people, and communities. Our collective success will depend not only on access to technology, but also on continued investment in trusted infrastructure, capability building, and responsible innovation that enable organizations to create lasting economic and societal value. Microsoft remains committed to working closely with public sector and private sector partners to advance this ambition. We will continue investing in trusted cloud and AI infrastructure, building future-ready skills for Malaysians, and enabling organizations to unlock real value from AI, advancing an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable AI economy.”