24/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | MAR 24, 2026

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Digital trust fuels Malaysia’s AI edge A RTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) and data now sit at the centre of how Malaysians live, work and transact – shaping everything from communi

networks, and in the safety of the products and services people rely on. When these foundations are strong, digital participation increases. The 2025 Digital Economy Trust Index shows that trust in digital payments and AI tools correlates most closely with national digital adoption, reinforcing that confidence drives usage. Trust also influences market decisions. McKinsey research shows that consumers across income levels value strong personal data protection and are willing to pay more for trusted digital services, including price sensitive segments. Our internal insights show that customer trust is greatly influenced by how transparently organisations explain data use, consent choices and automated decision making. Ultimately, people want technology they can trust. Markets will be led by those who deliver digital confidence and replace complexity with clarity. Digital trust as the national economic infrastructure At scale, digital trust functions as economic infrastructure, enabling everything that depends on it. Countries that are trusted stewards of data, networks, and digital services are better positioned to attract investment, enable innovation and build cross-border partnerships. For organisations, this trust is built through clear and consistent approaches to privacy, cybersecurity and responsible AI practices. When data practices are transparent and safeguards are credible, trust becomes an operational asset. It gives both businesses and users the assurance they need to participate in digital transactions confidently. At a national level, strengthening governance standards and aligning policy with industry practices help reinforce trust across the wider digital ecosystem. Within Asean, this creates an opportunity for Malaysia to position digital trust as an economic infrastructure that accelerates growth, enables innovation and strengthens competitiveness. This article is contributed by CelcomDigi Bhd head of privacy Benjamin Shepherdson (pix).

MALAYSIA has less than five years to hit one of its most ambitious goals yet: for SMEs to contribute half of the country’s GDP by 2030. Reaching that goal will take more than steady, incremental growth. Small businesses must transform from the inside out to be more productive, resilient and agile. This means leveraging technology throughout the businesses – from operations to strategic planning and decision making. This marks the rise of the “Intelligent SME”– a business defined by how to apply tools to drive real growth. From e-invoicing to AI, here’s where Malaysia’s SMEs are focusing on to stay competitive in 2026 and beyond. Prediction 1: SMEs are using e-invoicing to strengthen financial control in uncertain conditions For Malaysian SMEs, e-invoicing is becoming a way to stay in control when the economy feels anything but predictable. What started as a mandate is now giving business owners something they’ve long needed: a clearer, more immediate view of their finances. Owners can see what’s been issued, what’s been paid and what’s holding things up – all in real time. That visibility enables better decisions based on current, accurate data rather than assumptions or outdated reports. Cash flow can be managed more deliberately, risks are identified earlier, and owners spend less time cation to payments to essential services. While people may not control every point where their data is collected and where it moves, they expect their data to be handled responsibly, securely and transparently. These expectations are reflected in global trust indicators, which increasingly show that confidence is a decisive factor in digital participation. The 2025 Digital Economy Trust Index reports a strong correlation between consumer trust and national digital economy performance. It identifies trust in safer payment and AI tools as factors most closely linked to how people interact with and adopt digital systems. As Malaysia accelerates its digital progress, trust has become the baseline expectation and a key driver of country’s competitiveness. Responsible by design – governance that keeps pace with AI To sustain that competitiveness, organisations need firm operational foundations for trust that keeps pace with the rapid pace of technological development. That means moving from periodic, compliance-led checks to governance that is continuous and embedded in how AI is designed and used. This frames responsible governance as a prerequisite for scaling AI with confidence rather than a constraint on innovation. The World Economic Forum has been clear in this shift. Yet globally, organisations are progressing at different paces in setting up their AI governance framework. Even in advanced digital economies often seen as early AI adopters, the AI governance maturity remains early, and readiness remains low. A 2025 AI governance study across the US, UK, Canada and Germany, found that only 25% of organisations have fully implemented AI governance programmes despite rapid adoption of AI-driven tools. So, AI capabilities are advancing ahead of governance readiness. The challenges here are the risks of unintended and unethical outcomes as AI adoption accelerates. Given

systems. We recognise this as an ongoing journey, and as the network serving two-thirds of Malaysians, we are committed to shaping an inclusive, sustainable and trusted digital society. Trust drives digital participation Digital trust is fast becoming a commercial differentiator. As AI-enabled services, digital payments and automated interactions become part of everyday experiences, consumer confidence increasingly determines whether people participate or opt out. That confidence or trust is earned through practical ways like in how customer data is managed, in the security and resilience of

reacting to problems and more time planning for growth. Spending, hiring and investment decisions are grounded in what the business can realistically support. Over time, this strengthens the foundations of the business. With greater financial clarity and control, SMEs are better equipped to navigate volatility, avoid unnecessary shocks, and maintain stability as conditions change. Prediction 2: “Human Ingenuity” will be the competitive advantage in an AI everywhere world Now that AI is everywhere and becoming more “invisible”, integrated in the digital tools that businesses already use, the technology itself is no longer the differentiator. The real tipping point is how intelligently and intentionally those tools are applied. The real edge comes from human ingenuity – the mastery and intention of your people. The businesses winning today treat AI mastery as a core skill, from the front line to the back office. They don’t just automate for the sake of it; they invest in training and clear guidelines so their teams know exactly how to use AI to solve specific, real-world problems. Over time, this fluency compounds. It frees up headspace for work a machine can’t replicate: navigating tough client conversations, making high-stakes investment calls or finding creative solutions to solve challenges. With AI handling the these dynamics, we apply the same responsible by design discipline to AI that has long guided how we manage safety, privacy, compliance and cybersecurity across our operations. This includes applying well established privacy by design controls such as data minimisation, purpose limitation, and continuous impact assessments to AI systems – controls that ensure data is processed lawfully, fairly and with clear accountability. For Malaysia, this also means ensuring AI practices remain aligned with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and the enhancements to organisational accountability – standards that increasingly shape how organisations design and deploy automated

This year will see rise of ‘Intelligent SME’ in M’sia

routine in the background, teams can finally focus on what matters most: strategically growing the business. Prediction 3: SMEs are shifting from “DIY security” to “security by design” For SMEs, a single security failure can quickly turn into a commercial threat. When systems are disrupted or data is compromised, customer trust is the first thing to go. Most SMEs already have basic safeguards in place. But attacks are moving faster and growing more complex – often beyond what small teams can realistically manage on their own. The question now is who they can rely on when their own manual defences fall short. Many business owners realise that security is best outsourced to the experts. Instead of managing a patchwork of tools and manual checks, they’re choosing technology partners that build protection directly into software. Enterprise-grade security runs quietly in the background – continuously monitoring activity, responding to threats in real time and protecting workflows by default. The result is focus and confidence. Teams spend less time worrying about exposure and more time building the business. Security becomes part of the trust customers expect – not a lingering source of risk. This article is contributed by Xero Asia managing director Koren Wines (pix).