Budget 2027 Plans a Sovereign AI Cloud, 100,000 More Free AI Subscriptions and a Scam-Check App
Malaysia will build a Sovereign AI Cloud to keep citizens’ data and the country’s strategic information under Malaysian control, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Friday while tabling Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat, The Rakyat Post reported. Anwar said Malaysia should pioneer AI without putting the nation’s values and security at risk.
The budget adds 100,000 more free AI subscriptions for young people after what Anwar called an encouraging response, and widens the scope to new applications such as ChatGPT. Individual tax relief under the lifestyle category will now cover AI subscriptions, and the Rakyat Digital platform offers free access to more than 16,000 courses and professional certificate programmes through Coursera. Ministries, agencies and educational institutions will also contribute authenticated, annotated language data to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka so that Malaysia can build AI rooted in its national identity.
Spending is spread across the ecosystem. RM6 billion is allocated across ministries for research, development and commercialisation. AI Malaysia Berhad will receive nearly RM15 million to strengthen a safe and ethical AI ecosystem, with a target of 200,000 AI-skilled workers. A RM30 million MDEC fund will help 4,000 SMEs adopt AI and automate operations, and will train and certify 5,000 AI professionals.
What it means in practice
For households, the most tangible item may be scam detection. MCMC has blocked more than 5.7 billion scam calls and text messages, and the National Scam Response Centre will develop an AI app that lets people check suspicious numbers, bank accounts or links before making a transaction. On infrastructure, Sime Darby Property, EPF and LTAT are setting up a RM1.25 billion New Economy Venture Fund for data centres and logistics assets in Elmina, Selangor, while Khazanah and KWAP will invest RM1.2 billion to move local semiconductor firms into higher-value segments. NACSA and MCMC will also develop local data protection technology designed to withstand quantum computing threats.
The sovereign cloud has been in the works for some time, with MIMOS putting it at the centre of its 2026 delivery push and the government weighing Huawei Ascend chips for an RM2 billion build. The extra subscriptions build on the AI literacy drive aimed at 100,000 youths.
What to watch: which provider and chips the Sovereign AI Cloud ends up using, when the scam-check app launches, and how the new spending fits with the AI governance bill due to be tabled in 2027.