AI-related education to be expanded with RM50m allocation - Anwar
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, in tabling Budget 2025 today, said there are positive signs related to AI in the country such as the establishment of the first Faculty of Artificial Intelligence at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
“This gives us hope that there are signs...
BUDGET 2025 | Education related to artificial intelligence (AI) will be expanded in all research universities with an allocation of RM50 million, up from RM20 million this year, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, in tabling Budget 2025 today, said there are positive signs related to AI in the country such as the establishment of the first Faculty of Artificial Intelligence at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
“This gives us hope that there are signs our educational institutions are heading towards excellence,” he said.
The prime minister said Universiti Malaya will focus on AI in medicine to combat deadly diseases such as cancer.
He added that Universiti Putra Malaysia will establish the Malaysian Cryptology Technology and Management Centre in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) to follow up on quantum computing AI in preparation to face complicated cyber security threats.
Meanwhile, he said Universiti Sains Malaysia will explore semiconductors in line with Malaysia’s status as a world semiconductor hub, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is leading AI translation to elevate Malay as the language of science.
He said the government will continue to promote research and development activities.
“The research and development (R&D) fund is raised to RM600 million compared to RM510 million under the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation,” he said.
In addition, he said the Malaysia Science Endowment (MSE) Trust Fund is also provided with funds amounting to RM170 million which will be used to provide matching grants for private bodies and industries.
The Malaysia Techlympics programme with an allocation of RM10 million continues to be intensified as an incentive to produce local experts in robotics and AI technology, he said.
At the same time, Anwar said as much as RM10 million was provided for the National AI Office (NAIO) to increase the use of AI through collaboration with academia and industry.
- Bernama
