Malaysia’s Minister of Digital said on 11 September 2026 that the Ministry of Digital has completed drafting the AI Governance Bill after conducting workshops and engagement sessions and hopes to table the Bill in Parliament either by Q4 2026 or Q1 2027 at the latest¹. Through the AI Governance Bill, the Malaysian Government seeks to introduce a comprehensive legislative framework addressing the use, development, and deployment of AI systems in Malaysia.
 
The Digital Minister shed further light on the approach that will be adopted by the Malaysian Government in the regulation of AI. First, AI governance will not focus solely on legislation but involve three main aspects, namely standards, regulations and laws. The Minister added that matters which could be addressed through standards are already being implemented through the establishment of MY-AI Standards under the Ministry of Digital in collaboration with SIRIM Berhad (SIRIM).
 
Second, the Minister added that AI-related matters that require regulation but do not necessarily warrant legislation could be addressed through regulations that could be implemented more quickly, given that AI technology is developing rapidly and new issues may arise at any time.  
 
The Minister also said that the Malaysian Government is pursuing efforts to establish the enforcement structure to ensure that governance and enforcement mechanisms are in place once the AI Governance Bill is passed.
 
The Malaysian Government previously published a Public Consultation Paper on the AI Governance Bill, seeking feedback on the proposed provisions and approaches of the AI Governance Bill. Our previous alert on the key takeaways from the Public Consultation Paper can be accessed here.
 
For further information, please contact Charmayne Ong (Partner), Natalie Lim (Partner) and Jillian Chia (Partner) of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Practice of Skrine.