Malaysia is marching toward digital transformation, integrating emerging technologies into key sectors of its economy, with journalism tapped to join the trend.
According to a report, the Malaysian government has earmarked RM30 million (US$6.35 million) to digitize media houses in the Southeast Asian country. The grant to publishing outlets will power the integration of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain into their internal operations.
The US$6.35 million grant was announced at HAWANA 2025, an annual journalism conference with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in attendance. The Malaysian Prime Minister confirmed the grant at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Center in a hall packed to the rafters.
In his keynote address, the Prime Minister expressed hope that the digital transformation grant would improve the state of journalism, aligning with the pace of global digitization. Attendees to the event hailed the development, noting that the funds will strengthen the quality of reporting while improving turnaround times.
“Digital transformation is no longer an option but a necessity,” said one Editor-in-Chief of a leading Malaysian publication. “This support will help us face the evolving challenges brought by new technologies and changing reader behaviour.”
Apart from the capital injection into media houses, Malaysia has launched an AI-based fact-checking chatbot designed to combat AI-generated fake news. The chatbot, dubbed AIFA, is now integrated into social media platforms like WhatsApp, where most residents consume news.
Key media sector players have confirmed a raft of international and regional partnerships to maintain “credible and culturally rooted” reporting across Southeast Asia.
Malaysian authorities are embracing AI en masse, with the country’s anti-corruption agencies leaning on the technology to fight graft. The regulatory watchdog uses AI tools for real-time monitoring and predictive analytics to stifle the operation of scammers.
Journalism at risk from AI advancements, experts warn
The United Nations (UN) has raised the alarm at heightened risks from AI, citing the mass dissemination of fake news and the use of AI models for censorship by rogue states. Furthermore, the UN points out the risks of monopolization from a few AI companies controlling a large market share.
Global regulators are scrambling to set up new regulatory standards to combat the attendant risk of AI in the media sectors. Conversely, tech firms are rolling out tools to verify AI-generated content while social media platforms are clamping down on the circulation of deepfakes.
Amazon announces $13 billion investment to expand Australia’s AI and data center infrastructure
On another part of the globe, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced an AU$20 billion (US$13 billion) investment in Australia to improve the country’s artificial intelligence and data center capabilities.
The $13 billion investment is the largest technology investment announcement in the country’s history, dwarfing previous capital injections. A look at the announcement reveals that a significant chunk of the sum will be deployed toward expanding Australia’s cloud and AI capabilities.
The latest capital injection builds on a ten-year streak of Amazon’s investment in Australia, marked by six data centers in the region. From the announcement, it is unclear whether new data centers will be created or if the funds will be solely used to expand the capabilities of existing data centers.
However, the statement confirms that a part of the funds will be used to invest in three new solar farms to power Amazon’s data center operations. Amazon is aiming to scale its combined energy capacity to 170 megawatts (MW) from the three solar farms.
Currently, the technology giant has eight solar farms across Australia, generating 1.4 million MW hours per year.
“This is the largest investment our country has seen from a global technology provider, and is an exciting opportunity for Australia to build AI capability using secure, resilient infrastructure,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Amazon has committed to deploying a slice of the funds to back a wave of AI education initiatives across Australia. The technology giant has launched AWS AI Spring Australia, following up on previous AI learning initiatives like Generative AI Accelerator and AWS AI Launchpad for individuals and enterprises.
So far, Amazon has trained over 400,000 Australian residents with AI and emerging technology skills. Several Australia-based corporations have embedded Amazon’s AI offerings into their core operations, with small businesses leading in adoption metrics.
“The investment will generate economic opportunity for Australians, including skilled jobs and infrastructure that can support complex AI and supercomputing applications,” said the Prime Minister.
Australia records meteoric AI growth
AI adoption in Australia has surged to an all-time high, driven by a swathe of government initiatives and heavy private investment. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has previously invested over $3.2 billion to improve Australia’s AI and data center capabilities, pledging to deepen the technology talent pool.
In terms of utility, use cases are soaring, with an Australian charity turning to AI to protect the Daintree rainforest from ecological challenges. Furthermore, military AI applications in Australia have spiked, and regulators are turning to regional partnerships to ensure the safe development and use of AI systems.
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Watch: AI and Big Data will be a long-term trend
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