Credit : Gobind Singh Deo's X
October 21 — Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has said that the growth of Malaysia’s digital economy must keep opening up more fair opportunities for local businesses and deliver benefits to every Malaysian, with no one left behind.
He made the remarks after the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution Council (MED4IRN) held its third meeting of the year, Meeting No. 3 of 2026, on October 21. In a post shared on X, Gobind said the council reviewed the progress of the national digital economy and initiatives to strengthen competitiveness in step with fast-moving technological change.
“The growth of the nation’s digital economy must continue to open more fair opportunities for local businesses and bring benefits to all Malaysians, without anyone being left behind,” Gobind wrote in Malay.
The minister said he was taking up the mandate given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who wants healthy competition to be a driver of the digital economy, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so that they are free from practices that could burden local businesses.
“We at the Ministry of Digital will continue to champion a digital economy that is healthy, prosperous, equitable and inclusive for all,” he said, tagging the post with #AINation and #MED4IRN.
The post was accompanied by photographs of council members and officials seated around a large meeting table, with presentation screens at the front of the room.
Third council meeting of 2026
MED4IRN is the government’s high-level council for steering the national digitalisation agenda. Its first meeting of the year, MED4IRN No. 1 of 2026, was chaired by Anwar in Putrajaya on February 9. According to Bernama, the Prime Minister used that meeting to call on all ministries and agencies to speed up and improve the execution of agreed decisions on the country’s digital and artificial intelligence (AI) agenda. That meeting also discussed preparations for the Malaysia Digital 2030 (MD2030) plan, efforts to step up MyDigital ID registration, and input from the National AI Office on AI policies that draw on local talent.
The second meeting, MED4IRN No. 2 of 2026, was held on June 29 and focused on implementing the Malaysia Digital Action Plan 2030 (MD2030): Towards an AI Nation. Anwar launched MD2030 at that meeting as a national blueprint for 2026 to 2030, which The Star described as marking a shift from Malaysia being a technology user to a producer of home-grown innovation.
“Our priority is to ensure each initiative is carried out in a structured, disciplined and impactful way to benefit the people, enhance business competitiveness and steer Malaysia towards becoming an inclusive AI nation by 2030,” Anwar said at the time, as reported by Bernama.
At the June meeting, the council also heard a presentation from TalentCorp on the MyMAHIR National AI Council for Industry (MyMAHIR-NAICI) to accelerate workforce readiness in AI, and a presentation by the Ministry of Communications on the development framework for the National Digital Infrastructure Policy, according to a summary shared by Gobind on LinkedIn.
Focus on SMEs and fair competition
Gobind’s emphasis on fair opportunities for local firms and healthy competition among SMEs comes on the same day he officiated the opening of French software company Dassault Systèmes’ upgraded office in Bandar Utama, Selangor, where he urged technology players to make their tools affordable and accessible to SMEs and to provide hands-on training.
In his June summary of the council’s work, Gobind said MD2030 was meant to accelerate the adoption of AI, automation and a data-driven economy, and to strengthen Malaysia’s resilience in the face of geopolitical uncertainty and global digital economic competition, with every initiative delivering tangible impact to the people, businesses and the nation.
Further details of the decisions made at MED4IRN Meeting No. 3 of 2026 have yet to be announced.
Source: Gobind Singh Deo’s X
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