ASEAN’S AI MOMENT: WHAT MALAYSIA ACHIEVED IN 2025

Published on 19 Dec 2025

In “ASEAN’s AI Moment: What Malaysia Achieved in 2025,” Zaim Mohzani highlights Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship as a turning point for regional AI policy, where Malaysia placed artificial intelligence at the centre of governance, emphasizing public trust, inclusion, and regional resilience. Under its leadership, ASEAN advanced key instruments like the expanded Guide on AI Governance and Ethics and the Responsible AI Roadmap through 2030, linking AI to economic growth, digital trade, and societal impacts, while Singapore provided technical expertise through its Model AI Governance Framework. Malaysia’s ASEAN AI Safe initiative framed safety as a shared priority, engaging SMEs, youth groups, and civil society to broaden participation, though gaps in coordination between safety and standards agendas revealed the need for stronger alignment. Mohzani argues that ASEAN’s flexible, consensus-based approach suits regional diversity but limits global influence without dedicated representation, proposing an ASEAN Tech Ambassador to coordinate policy and international engagement.