PRESS RELEASE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT UPSKILLS 200 "CHANGE AMBASSADORS" IN GENERATIVE AI TOOLS TO DRIVE PUBLIC SERVICE TRANSFORMATION
KUALA LUMPUR, 12 MARCH 2025 – The Malaysian Government has intensified its drive to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the public sector with a specialised ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programme. Held from March 3 to 7, 2025, at Menara Usahawan, Putrajaya, the initiative is a key component of the ‘AI At Work 2.0’ programme, a follow-up to the first phase carried out in August 2024.
Approximately 200 "Change Ambassadors" from various ministries and agencies participated in the “Train the Trainer” programme. These ambassadors, who also serve as IT administrators in the MyGovUC unit of Jabatan Digital Negara (JDN), will be responsible for disseminating AI knowledge and skills within their respective departments.
Launched on February 5, 2025 by Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo, the ‘AI At Work 2.0’ programme aims to equip 445,000 public officers with Google Workspace's latest generative AI suite, Gemini, to improve service delivery and enhance productivity. A joint effort between the Ministry of Digital (management section), Google Cloud, JDN, and NAIO, the ‘Trainthe-Trainer’ programme focused on enabling public officers to utilise Gemini to generate content, summarise information, analyse data, and enhance meeting experiences with AI-generated notes. FOR
In the ‘AI At Work’ pilot programme conducted last year with 270 public officers from JDN, 91% of them reported saving an average of 3.25 hours per week and saw how generative AI tools had enhanced their quality of work – thus spurring the government to expand the programme and ensure widespread AI adoption across government agencies.
For Ts. Dr. Sheila Mahalingam, whose responsibilities include policy development and research in her role as a Senior Principal Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Digital, AI has significantly transformed her workflow. By automating repetitive tasks, she shared that she can now focus more on higher-level strategic thinking and creative problemsolving. AI-powered tools have streamlined her information-gathering process, enabling her to access and analyse vast amounts of data with greater efficiency and accuracy.
When it comes to analysing vast amounts for insightful takeaways, Mohd Fazli Sahari said that AI has enabled him to leverage broader data sources, allowing him to access and process the latest articles, journals, and sources faster. The head of the Integrity Unit in JDN, whose tasks include addressing integrity issues and monitoring legal compliance, is positive about the benefits of AI in the workplace, saying, “AI has helped me increase the speed, accuracy, precision, and sophistication in handling tasks related to information in a quicker and more detailed manner, particularly in providing relevant and up-to-date information, especially to higher management.”
Meanwhile, Senior Assistant Director in the Human Resources Department in JDN, Chor Yee Reen was initially skeptical about AI tools due to her non-IT background but soon discovered that she could save time by utilising transcription and translation features for summarising minutes and reports. She also felt that crafting effective prompts was important in order for the participants to get the most out of the AI tools, and that increased exposure to these tools was beneficial for the professional development of public officers.
As an officer tasked with the development, integration and testing of the Application Programming Interface (API) which involves providing data to ministries and government officers, Jannatul Firdaus Azmi had a headstart in using AI tools compared to the rest of her colleagues as she was part of a similar pilot programme in Japan previously. Jannatul said she is looking forward to using AI tools more frequently, as they enable her to provide better outputs for her counterparts in other ministries, enabling them to serve the rakyat better.
The ‘AI At Work 2.0’ initiative also builds on the Public Sector Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adaptation Guidelines which was launched on February 27, 2025. Developed by JDN and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the guidelines aim to ensure responsible and ethical AI adoption in the public sector with content encompassing the ethical principles to be adhered to; roles and responsibilities of key actors; risk management; adaptation methods; and a self-assessment template to help agencies identify the scope and impact of AI in the public sector.
These initiatives are testament to the power of AI to drive positive change in the public sector -- by empowering officers with the necessary tools to transform the way they work, in order to provide better public services and improve the lives of the people. These critical components play a crucial role in driving positive transformation within their organisations, aligning with the government's broader digitalisation agenda, and national AI and digital economy goals.
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Issued by:
Corporate Communications Unit
Ministry of Digital
