MalaysiaAI regulation

Regulation Status

• Malaysia has no AI-specific law in force; it relies on existing laws including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the voluntary National Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics (2024), while the National AI Office (NAIO), launched December 2024, coordinates strategy, an AI regulatory framework and a National AI Action Plan 2026-2030.
• Malaysia is engaged internationally on AI, proposing an ASEAN AI Safety Network, co-hosting the UK-ASEAN AI Innovation Summit, joining a UAE-Malaysia-Rwanda AI alliance, and tightening export controls on US-origin AI chips.
• Regulators are active under existing law: the MCMC ordered then lifted temporary restrictions on X's Grok over harmful AI content in January 2026 and is investigating AI misuse, while the data protection department (JPDP) issued 2026 guidelines on DPIA, privacy by design and automated decision-making.
• Malaysia is developing a risk-based AI law to impose stricter oversight on high-risk technologies, with an AI legislative framework to be presented to Cabinet by June 2026, though ministers have stated there is no firm timeline for an AI-specific law.