LOCAL NEWS
March-April. 2026 | @ green
LOCAL NEWS
23
From algorithms to accountability
� Sultan Nazrin’ s central warning is clear: history shows the danger of building powerful technologies without regulatory frameworks.
� While AI is already embedded across industries in the region, governance remains fragmented and reactive.
GOVERN BEFORE BUILDING: Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah delivers his royal keynote address during the Putrajaya Forum 2026 at Mitec in Kuala Lumpur on Apr 21.
� Beyond regulation, Asean faces a strategic imperative: to stop relying on imported technologies and instead build its own digital capabilities.
IN an age defined by speed— of data, decisions and disruption— a rare voice called for restraint. At the Putrajaya Forum 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, delivered a keynote that cut through the optimism surrounding emerging technologies with a sobering reminder: progress without governance is a risk the world can no longer afford.
“ In our own era, we have repeatedly learned, and then seemingly forgotten, the hardest lesson of all: that we tend to build first and govern later,” he said.
GOVERN BEFORE IT’ S TOO LATE
Sultan Nazrin’ s warning was grounded in history.
“ The atomic bomb was detonated before the world had any framework for its regulation,” he noted.“ We must not repeat that error with AI, genetic engineering or the other converging technologies of the centuries.”
For Asean, racing into digital transformation, the message is clear. Artificial intelligence is already embedded across sectors, yet governance frameworks remain reactive and fragmented.
The cost of delay, he cautioned, could be irreversible— particularly in climate and ecological systems where damage compounds silently.
FROM CONSUMERS TO CREATORS
Beyond regulation, Sultan Nazrin challenged Asean to rethink its role in the global tech landscape.
The region must move beyond being a passive adopter of technologies developed elsewhere and become an architect of its own digital future.
That shift begins with people.
He urged member States to invest urgently in AI literacy to help communities navigate deepfakes, synthetic media and algorithm-driven disinformation— threats that undermine trust as much as truth.
At the same time, he emphasised that AI must be“ prosocial in design”, reinforcing social cohesion rather than eroding it.
In a region defined by diversity, technology must be shaped with cultural awareness, not deployed as a one-size-fitsall solution.
ENVIRONMENTAL COST OF DIGITAL GROWTH
The Sultan also highlighted a less visible consequence of the digital economy— its environmental footprint.
With data centres in Southeast Asia expected to triple by 2030, pressure on energy systems and water resources will intensify.
“ A digital transition that merely displaces environmental harm is not progress. It is a reclassification,” he said.
Corporations benefiting from the region’ s infrastructure, he argued, must bear a proportionate share of environmental costs. CLIMATE AS SECURITY
In perhaps the most significant reframing of his address, Sultan Nazrin positioned climate change as a core security issue.
Describing it as“ the most underacknowledged security threat of our era”, he called for planetary health to be embedded at the centre of Asean’ s security framework.
“ Climate change, biodiversity collapse, ocean acidification, water scarcity and soil degradation are not environmental issues that sit alongside our security agenda.
“ They are security threats that belong at its centre.”
“ Environmental security is not a luxury agenda to be deferred until wealthier times. It is the foundation on which every other aspect of planetary and human security rests.”
The message is unmistakable. Asean can move fast and follow— or move wisely and lead.
In the race toward a digital future, the real advantage may not lie in speed, but in the discipline to govern what is built— before the cost of inaction becomes irreversible.
Defending the future with AI and sovereign power
THIS year, the Defence Services Asia( DSA) exhibition unfolded against a world that is no longer predictable— where threats are not only physical but also digital, invisible, and fast-evolving.
It is within this shifting landscape that Sapura Defence is recalibrating its strategy, placing artificial intelligence( AI), secure communications and sovereign capabilities at the core of its response.
Sapura Group CEO Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin captured the urgency of the moment.“ The complexity of the security, cyber and environmental risks we face today is evolving faster than ever, particularly in light of growing concerns around frontier artificial intelligence( AI) threats,” he said.
“ At Sapura, we recognised early that AI would fundamentally transform how we empower our people, solutions and operations to detect and respond with greater speed and efficiency.”
At DSA 2026, that vision takes tangible form.
Sapura Secured Technologies Group( SSTG) is showcasing its 5G-enabled, AI-driven Government Integrated Radio Network( GIRN 2.0), a system designed to unify agencies under a single, secure communications platform.
“ GIRN 2.0 enables government agencies to manage national disasters and Public Protection and Disaster Relief( PPDR) operations more effectively by unifying responding agencies on a single secure system,” Shahril explained.
MEETING MODERN THREATS: PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim visited the Sapura booth at DSA 2026, in the presence of Shahril and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin( on his left).
“ It provides real-time situational awareness from the field to federal command, enabling faster decisionmaking, seamless coordination and better protection of lives during crises.”
Alongside this, Velum Labs is advancing Malaysia’ s cyber defence frontier with its V-Attack platform, integrating sovereign AI into Active Cyber Defence and Resilience frameworks.
“ We are delighted to be pushing the boundaries of Malaysia’ s rapidly growing cyber market, with our people and solutions receiving recognition both domestically and across our expanding international client portfolio,” he added.
In a world where security is increasingly defined by speed, intelligence and control, Sapura’ s message is clear: the future of defence will belong to those who can think— and respond— faster than the threat. – @ green