ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) and data now sit at the centre of how Malaysians live, work and transact – shaping everything from communication 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 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 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 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.
The Sun Malaysia
