Selangor Launches AI Initiative with Google Cloud in Malaysia

Teraju AI Selangor provides Selangor state agencies with access to an AI innovation sandbox that is the first of its kind in Malaysia’s public sector, enabling them to rapidly develop impactful AI solutions.

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  • The State Government of Selangor, through Selangor Technical Skills Development Center (STDC) and Google Cloud, announced the launch of Teraju AI Selangor, a joint initiative to help state government agencies in Selangor build and implement custom AI solutions that address real-world challenges to benefit citizens and communities.

    Funded by the State Government of Selangor, Teraju AI Selangor will enable state agencies to potentially enhance public services in areas like citizen communications, education, healthcare, transportation, and physical infrastructure maintenance, and advance projects that boost tourism and agricultural output.

    YAB Dato’ Seri Amirudin Bin Shari, Chief Minister of Selangor, was the guest of honor at the launch of Teraju AI Selangor. Delivering officiating remarks on the significance of this initiative, he said: “We recognise the potential of generative AI (gen AI) and agentic AI to reshape public service and accelerate Selangor’s transformation into a leading smart state. We’re therefore taking decisive action through Teraju AI Selangor, equipping state agencies with the essential toolset and training to help them effectively and responsibly harness these technologies. 

    This initiative is spearheaded by STDC and Google Cloud, with the latter providing best-in-class capabilities that enable the rapid development of functional AI solutions with robust guardrails. I must also stress that throughout this initiative, we are prioritising the safe and ethical use of data, with zero compromise on data privacy and security as we cannot take cyber threats lightly. I am glad to see the fruition of this partnership and hope that through this, Selangor can build a more responsive system of government that is fit for the 21st century while rivaling some of Asia’s best.”

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    A Toolset that Addresses Agencies’ Full Spectrum of AI Innovation Needs

    Under Teraju AI Selangor, the State Government of Selangor has invested in an AI innovation sandbox that is the first of its kind in Malaysia’s public sector. Established by STDC and Google Cloud, the sandbox will provide participating agencies with funded access to Google Cloud’s fully integrated AI technology stack for up to six weeks. With access to these capabilities via a dedicated and secure Google Cloud environment, agencies can rapidly build their own gen AI and agentic AI solutions.

    Google Cloud’s fully-integrated AI technology stack includes:

    • Fully managed, AI-optimised infrastructure that offers a faster, more energy efficient, and cost-effective way for organisations to train and serve complex AI models at scale, by combining specialised, high-performance hardware like Google Cloud Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) with open source-based orchestration software like Google Kubernetes Engine;
    • Vertex AI, an all-in-one AI development platform that makes it easy for organisations to customise AI models and integrate them into applications. This includes an interface for users without programming expertise to create and deploy AI agents. With more than 160 available model types and sizes in its Model Garden—including Google’s Gemini 2.0 models, Anthropic’s Claude models, and Meta’s Llama models—Vertex AI gives organisations the flexibility to choose the model that is best suited for their needs, and tune the model using content filters and features like grounding to ensure it delivers safe and trustworthy responses;
    • BigQuery, a unified data management and analytics platform that makes it easier for organisations to organise and govern multimodal data—such as information captured in databases, images, documents, and videos—that is needed for training and grounding AI models;
    • Gemini Code Assist, an AI-powered tool that developers can converse with for personalised coding suggestions and guidance, accelerating their development of digital applications.

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    Strengthening agencies’ in-house AI development capacity and competencies

    To ensure that they can effectively utilise the capabilities provided by the sandbox, agencies participating in Teraju AI Selangor will be enrolled in a full-day workshop sponsored and conducted by STDC and Google Cloud. During this workshop, agencies’ AI practitioners and developers will receive tailored, hands-on training, enabling them to identify strategic use cases that can be addressed using AI and build at least one AI solution prototype.

    Over the next six weeks, these agencies will test and refine their prototypes with technical support from STDC, Google Cloud, and Cloud Space, a Google Cloud partner. At the end of this period, the agencies will be required to demonstrate working solutions to a panel from the State Government of Selangor, STDC, and Google Cloud, who will evaluate these solutions’ functionality and readiness for implementation.

    Solutions with the highest potential to benefit Selangor’s citizens and economy will be showcased at the Teraju AI Selangor graduation ceremony later this year. Further funding may also be provided by the State Government of Selangor to facilitate their full-scale implementation.

    Teraju AI Selangor aims to drive the development and implementation of AI-driven digital solutions across various aspects of the Selangor State Government administration. It will also involve key agencies like Media Selangor and Air Selangor.

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    Encik Mohd Nazri Bin Noh, Chairman of Selangor Technical Skills Development Center’s Board of Directors, said: “STDC is proud to be orchestrating Teraju AI Selangor in collaboration with Google Cloud. This initiative by the State Government of Selangor can be a catalyst for public service transformation, but unlocking its full potential requires practical AI solution development and implementation experience. Teraju AI Selangor is designed to empower state agencies with an enterprise AI toolset and hands-on training curriculum, crafted by Google Cloud experts who’ve been shaping this field. This initiative will nurture a public sector workforce that’s capable of translating technological promise into real-world applications that deliver tangible value for communities.”

    Serene Sia, Country Director, Malaysia and Singapore, Google Cloud, said: “Selangor is poised to be a significant beneficiary of Google’s investments in Malaysia, as well as its leading AI capabilities. With Teraju AI Selangor, we’re deepening our partnership with the State Government of Selangor, working directly with state agencies and STDC to identify specific areas where AI can be applied to uplift productivity, enhance decision-making, and deliver impactful services in support of state priorities like Rancangan Selangor. Google Cloud’s technology stack is purpose-built to address public sector organizations’ full spectrum of AI innovation needs, including explainability, security, and privacy. In the coming weeks, we look forward to showcasing AI solutions that advance each agency’s mission and make a positive difference in the lives of citizens.”

    Teraju AI Selangor joins a series of ongoing Google initiatives that are aimed at benefiting communities in Selangor. These include the construction of a Google data center and Google Cloud region in Elmina Business Park, a restoration project to improve Taman Aman Lake’s water quality and biodiversity, and the Future Skills for All program to equip 61,000 students with digital skills that are vital for the jobs of tomorrow.

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