KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Putrajaya said today it is planning to develop its own Malay large language model (LLM) that can be used by generative artificial intelligence (AI), Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal said today.

Yusof said national applied research and development centre Mimos Berhad will collaborate with local startup Mesolitica Sdn Bhd — due to its experience developing the Malaysia-centric chat language model MaLLaM.

"The development of LLM will support the local AI ecosystem and reduce reliance on foreign AI technology,” the deputy minister told the Dewan Rakyat here.

He also said that this collaboration will also involve Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in the future to enrich the Malay language.

Yusof was replying to Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, who asked whether the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) is developing its own LLM to ensure that local values and customs are not sidelined.

An LLM is an advanced artificial intelligence system trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like responses.

These models are designed to assist with tasks like answering questions, writing, and translating, but they rely on patterns in data rather than true understanding.

According to Yusof, other ministries that are involved in the development of a local LLM include the Health Ministry, Digital Ministry, Plantation and Commodities Ministry, Higher Education Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department.

He said this LLM will also abide by the National Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics launched on September 20, 2024, to ensure that the model complies with Malaysian values and customs.

In addition, Yusof said Mosti is now exploring computing infrastructures with competitive costs that can handle and refine proprietary data safely, following concerns of data breaches from foreign cloud-based services.

In collaboration with Taiwan-based electronics company Phison Electronics Corporation — founded by Malaysian Datuk KS Phua — he said Putrajaya has employed the aiDAPTIV+ technology to optimise the use of AI for government agencies and small-to-medium enterprises.