05/03/2026

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Big hurdles in regulating AI platforms: Specialist

Penang deploys machine to

process food waste GEORGE TOWN: While the sight and aroma of iftar treats fill Ramadan bazaars, tens of tonnes of food are discarded daily, causing a growing concern over food waste. Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said up to 30 tonnes of waste are collected each day from 26 Ramadan bazaars on the island, amounting to about 900 tonnes for the month. He said the city council has implemented a green initiative by deploying a food machine to process food waste at the Bayan Putra Ramadan Bazaar, located near Queensbay Mall. “The machine separates food waste into oil, finely ground food particles and clear water, with the ground food turned into compost. “Used cooking oil will be collected for recycling into biodiesel and we are working with Petronas to collect it from all Ramadan bazaars,” he added. Rajendran said the pilot initiative aims to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfills while also educating the public on the importance of proper waste segregation. He added that Ramadan bazaars remain a key driver of the local economy, with 1,481 stalls approved this year. He said the Ramadan bazaars are expected to generate about RM75 million in economic value while creating some 5,000 additional jobs. He also said the city council requires stall owners to remain at their premises, with cooking to be done by local workers, while foreign assistants are allowed to help in certain tasks. Commenting on enforcement, Rajendran said the city council emphasises educating and advising traders before taking stringent action against those who continue to violate regulations. – Bernama RM78m allocated to welfare programmes MALACCA: The state government here has allocated RM78.67 million this year for various community welfare programmes, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh. He said this year’s allocation marked an increase of RM1.71 million over the RM76.96 million set aside for programmes last year. “In 2024, the state allocated RM66.07 million for welfare and the increase has been consistent every year to ensure no group is left out. Each ringgit of assistance is a symbol of the state government’s commitment and concern to ensure all citizens, irrespective of race, religion or background, enjoy development and welfare benefits in a fair and equitable manner.” He was speaking at the Malacca Chinese New Year Open House at Dataran Klebang, which was also attended by the Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam on Tuesday. He said the Chinese New Year was not just an annual event, but also a platform to strengthen unity and foster closer relations among various races in the state. Ab Rauf said Malacca, home to about 1.05 million people comprising 72.8% Malays, 21.1 % Chinese, 5.5% Indians and other races, has shown that its diversity is a key strength in shaping the harmony in the state. “At a time when the world is divided because of differences, we in Malaysia need to be grateful that Malacca and the country have chosen to continue strengthening togetherness and celebrating diversity. – Bernama

o ‘Technology embedded in broader digital ecosystems than standalone platforms’

their own model because to create one LLM costs millions and it is extremely expensive.” He said reliance on foreign AI systems raises questions about how effectively domestic regulators can control such technologies. “The National AI Office is supposed to be a policy house for AI. “If it is a policy house for AI, then it must consistently produce communication related to AI policy to the public.” Sirajuddin also said regulators must balance the risks of misuse with the technology’s wider benefits. “The reality is those tools are also used for many developments that bring benefits. “Before banning them, if the government does not have a clear understanding and does not call AI operators to discuss what the problem is and ask whether they are aware of it, then it becomes a ‘bottleneck’.” The debate comes as deepfake videos involving public figures have surfaced online, including AI-generated TikTok clips with fake images of the King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim, that prompted a warning from the Johor palace on Feb 25 and a police probe the following day. On Friday, a widely spread video involving Border Control and Protection Agency Director-General Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain was confirmed by authorities to have been manipulated by deepfake technology. Communications Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday that 90% of 115,161 requests submitted to social media platforms to remove online content were complied within the first two months of this year.

and the public, they will consider it. “The real issue is: what is the bottleneck for MCMC or the government to block AI-related websites? Take ChatGPT and Gemini for example, content generation can happen there,” he added. He said many AI tools are embedded across broader digital ecosystems rather than operating as standalone platforms. “Gemini is everywhere. It is the same with WhatsApp and Meta,” he said, explaining that it is difficult to ban a particular technology that is used by several platforms. “It is not easy because it is embedded in many other products. How do you ban Meta AI when Meta is inside WhatsApp?” Sirajuddin said many AI tools are built on underlying systems known as large language models (LLM). “AI is not like an app. AI is the algorithm and the machine learning system, which is LLM. “People use the LLM app programming interfaces (tools that allow apps and AI systems to connect and work together) to create another product, and another product.” He added that the global ownership of many AI models complicates enforcement. “We go to ChatGPT. We go to Gemini. That is the vulnerability. All of it is not owned by Malaysians. Malaysians are not using Malaysian LLM,” he said. “Higgsfield (a website for AI-generated videos) has many engines inside. It has Seedance (ByteDance’s AI video model), it has Kling (a China-based AI video generation model), it has other video engines, it has Veo (Google’s AI video model)... it combines them. “So, it is similar to others. They do not create

Ű BY FAIZ RUZMAN newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) has said regulating generative AI platforms poses far greater challenges compared with blocking individual websites. It was commenting on whether similar measures could be applied to AI video generation tools following a recent move by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block access to the websites of dating platforms Grindr and Blued. MCCA president Sirajuddin Jalil said the rationale behind blocking such dating platforms differs from regulating generative AI. “Those dating apps are not just about content, they are also often seen as conflicting with local norms and values. “The second reason is pornography is totally banned in Malaysia, and within those platforms there may be pornographic-type material and other content that could be against the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.” However, he said regulating AI platforms is more complicated due to how the technology operates across multiple digital services. “When we talk with the government, anything that is favourable to the government He said technical barriers such as site blocking may affect casual users but are unlikely to stop determined actors. “From a technical perspective, blocking AI video-generation websites is only an initial step that addresses the problem from the outside. “While it may make things harder for ordinary users, those with malicious intent could still bypass such restrictions by using VPNs, which act like digital ‘back alleys’.” He said the challenge is compounded by the fact that many AI technologies are open source and can be downloaded and run directly on personal computers without visiting any website. He also said blocking specific platforms would have limited impact because similar tools could still be accessed offline or through mirror sites, meaning internet restrictions alone cannot fully stop the production of deepfake content. Ainuddin added that from a digital forensics perspective, investigators are able to identify traces left behind by AI systems but detection remains a complex process. “We can detect what we call ‘digital scars’ left by AI, such as unnatural heartbeat patterns on a face or inconsistencies in light reflections in the eyes. “However, the challenge is that as detection techniques become more advanced, deepfake generation technology also evolves to hide its weaknesses,” he explained. “The biggest difficulty arises when the video

‘Blocking websites may not fully stop problem’ PETALING JAYA: Blocking websites that generate AI videos may slow the spread of deepfake content but the measure alone is unlikely to fully prevent misuse due to the availability of open-source tools and other ways to bypass restrictions, said Universiti Malaya cybersecurity specialist Prof Dr Ainuddin Wahid Abdul Wahab.

Ainuddin said technical safeguards within digital platforms may be more effective than simple access restrictions. – ADAM AMIR HAMZAH/THESUN

like a birth certificate for digital content. “Every AI-generated video would carry hidden information showing it was produced by a machine. If the video is altered, the mark would be damaged, allowing social media systems to automatically flag it as manipulated content.” He said the approach prioritises verifying the origin of digital content rather than blocking access, similar to installing scanners to ensure every item entering a system carries a valid label. – BY FAIZ RUZMAN

is uploaded to social media platforms. These systems often compress the video, which removes subtle evidence or ‘digital fingerprints’ needed for forensic analysis.” He said technical safeguards within digital platforms may be more effective than simple access restrictions. “Mechanisms such as digital watermarking and authenticity standards such as Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (a digital content authenticity standard) could function