AWS announced Semarak AI Malaysia on November 4, 2026, as a national program spanning public services, businesses, and communities. Its three pillars are AI Negara, AI Ekonomi, and AI Rakyat, with plans that include government access to AI tools, support for small businesses, and student and school initiatives.
Government tools and GovHub
For the public sector, AWS described plans to make Amazon Quick available through Jabatan Digital Negara’s AI-as-a-Service platform to as many as 445,000 government officers. The announcement names procurement-data analysis, policy research, and finding patterns in large datasets as potential uses.
A separate initiative, GovHub, is powered by Kiro and delivered through the same platform. AWS said its first-phase pilot was planned to start with 500 developers in 2026, with a goal of reaching 4,000 developers by 2028. Kiro’s spec-driven development approach turns developer prompts into structured requirements, designs, and implementation specifications.
SME access and software businesses
Under a collaboration involving GD XCHANGE and VSTECS, eligible small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are to receive six months of complimentary access to Amazon Quick and Kiro after an AI-readiness assessment. AWS set a goal of onboarding 10,000 SMEs by 2028.
AWS and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation also run the Sarawak SaaS Accelerator, which supports software companies developing AI products and connects them with Sarawak businesses seeking AI solutions. AWS reported that more than 20 companies graduated from the pilot cohort. Graduates received AWS cloud credits and technical mentorship, while SDEC provided business-building guidance.
As broader context for the business strand, AWS reported that Malaysian software companies building on AWS saw average cloud and AI workload growth of approximately 30% between 2024 and 2025. The figure describes those companies’ workloads over that period.
Students and community programs
AWS reported that more than 3,000 students and lecturers participated in the POLYCC Agentic AI League 2026, with Kiro as the competition’s primary coding tool. AWS described the participation as a Malaysia Book of Records milestone.
The community pillar also includes AWS’s adoption of Sekolah Kebangsaan Datuk Keramat (1) in Kuala Lumpur under Sekolah Angkat MADANI. Planned work includes digital and STEM facility upgrades, teacher training in coding and robotics, and student activities in drone technology and digital safety.
