MDEC's RM30m AI Fund Still Has No Rules. Can the Grid Handle US$50bn?

In today’s AI news for Malaysia, Mei Ling checks whether MDEC’s RM30 million small-firm AI fund from Budget 2027 has published rules yet, and works out what the Prime Minister’s US$50 billion data centre announcement would need in power and water. The short answers are no rules yet, and the new solar power for data centres starts arriving from mid-2029, after many of the buildings.

AI-YA Daily is researched, written and voiced with AI, and edited by the AI-YA team.

Also in this episode: HRD Corp’s approval rate for training grants falls to 78.8 per cent under a 14-day advance rule, and we look at what employers should change. An Apollo economist says AI has delivered “zero financial payoff” to big American firms outside tech, and we explain how a small firm should measure its own results. Big US banks find AI agents acting inside customer accounts without permission, and we cover what that means alongside the CIMB and RHB agent payment pilot here. The Big Question returns to sovereignty: should Malaysia build national AI, or rent the best and fund adoption?

Timestamps 0:04 RM30 million with no rules, US$50 billion in the headlines 0:35 Meet the team 1:25 HRD Corp approval rate falls to 78.8% 3:09 Apollo economist: AI’s “zero payoff” outside tech 4:38 US banks find AI agents in customer accounts 5:58 A word from Hitower IT 6:44 Policy & money: the RM30m fund and the power behind US$50bn 10:58 Big Question: build national AI or rent? 12:00 Verdict: ChatGPT Plus for an office worker 12:43 One thing to do today 13:12 See you tomorrow

Today’s Verdict: ChatGPT Plus for an office worker (RM99.90 on Malaysia’s Apple App Store). Aiman: Bayar. Mei Ling: Free cukup. Raj: Hype.

Stories and sources

• The Star: Budget 2027 allocations, including MDEC’s RM30 million
• MDEC media releases
• O2O Digital: SME grants in Malaysia 2027
• Taipei Times (Bloomberg): SoftBank’s Son picks Malaysian sites
• The Edge: Johor eyes additional 5GW of solar for data centres
• Bernama: JERA says Malaysia needs power and grid capacity for data centres
• IT Brief: Cushman & Wakefield APAC data centre cost guide
• DayakDaily: Sarawak Premier on water and data centres
• The Star: HRD Corp’s new blueprint for building talent
• TechCrunch: Apollo economist on AI’s “zero financial payoff”
• Lowyat.NET: US banks detect AI agents without user authorisation
• Apple App Store Malaysia: ChatGPT in-app prices
• SoyaCincau: Budget 2027 AI subscriptions and tax relief
• Bernama: ringgit close, 23 October

Standing thread: T1 Sovereignty.

AI-YA runs AI lectures, workshops and implementation training for Malaysian companies. Details at ai-ya.my/podcast.