AI Stocks Stumble, and Malaysia's AI Builders Hub Still Isn't Open

Mei Ling Good afternoon. On Thursday in New York, Google's parent company had the worst day in its stock market history. On Friday, Intel lost almost 29 per cent of its value. We weren't on air for either day. So today, the news we missed, and a promise we still owe you.

Raj Good afternoon, and if you're on your way home, welcome to Saturday the thirty-first of October. This is the Saturday week in review. First, an honest apology: there was no show on Thursday or Friday, and we're sorry we went quiet. I'm Raj, and I ask what things cost before anyone says hello.

Aiman I'm Aiman. I set the tools up, and then I count what they cost in ringgit.

Mei Ling And I'm Mei Ling, reading the fine print so your weekend starts on time. Each week we sort global artificial intelligence news, or AI news, into what helps Malaysian work and money. This show is researched and voiced with AI, and edited by the AI-YA team. We practise what we teach. Three stories, one Malaysia. Let's rewind to Thursday.

Aiman Alphabet, which owns Google, reported results on Wednesday evening, New York time. Google Cloud revenue doubled to 30.7 billion US dollars in one quarter. But search grew only 12 per cent, its slowest pace this year. And Alphabet spent 51.4 billion dollars in that quarter, mostly on its AI build-out.

Raj Put that in money I understand.

Aiman At about RM4.08 to the dollar, that's roughly RM210 billion. In three months. Fortune reports free cash flow was minus 9.1 billion dollars. On Thursday the shares fell nearly 13 per cent, the worst day on record, according to CNBC.

Raj Okay. So some very rich people in New York had a bad Thursday. I'm not convinced a kedai in Seremban needs to know.

Aiman Then came Friday. Intel fell almost 29 per cent after a weak forecast, blaming slow personal computer sales and expensive memory. The Nasdaq, America's big tech index, had its worst day since June.

Raj I hear what you're saying, but my customers don't own Intel shares.

Aiman No, but they buy laptops. Intel's finance chief, David Zinsner, expects that slowdown to last at least through the first half of next year. And Intel's Penang packaging complex carries a RM12 billion commitment, due to start this year.

Raj Hmm. Fair, that's closer to home than I thought. And the data centres?

Aiman That's the bigger link. Fortune counts 94 billion US dollars of data centre investment recorded here from 2021 to mid-2026. Google alone committed 2 billion. When the big spenders get nervous, that queue can slow down.

Mei Ling On the seventeenth, we told you the International Monetary Fund named an AI market correction as a top global risk. This week felt like a fire drill, not the fire.

Raj And on Tuesday, an economist said AI had given big American firms outside tech zero financial payoff. Now shareholders are asking the same thing. So what did Bursa do?

Aiman On Friday morning, Bernama had the main index down just 0.04 per cent. Chip names like Malaysian Pacific Industries slipped. Intel's fall came on Friday night our time, so Monday is the real test.

Raj So the lesson for my shop is… never sign anything on a Friday?

Aiman Close. Pay for AI tools monthly where you can. Avoid long contracts until the prices settle.

Mei Ling On Monday, we told you the Prime Minister said one investor plans US$50 billion here, about RM204 billion. Bloomberg named SoftBank's Masayoshi Son. Later that day in Kuching, Sarawak's Premier, Abang Johari, said the plan was real but still at the planning stage. The Edge reports he wouldn't disclose the amount yet.

Aiman So, a big number and no signature. Has SoftBank said anything?

Mei Ling Fortune asked SoftBank for comment and reported no confirmation. Then on Wednesday, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo wound up his ministry's Budget debate in Parliament. The Star says 27 data centre projects have been approved by the Data Centre Task Force. Each must meet at least 30 per cent local content, and the task force will monitor energy and water conditions.

Aiman The 4,053 jobs figure we already gave you on the twenty-third, so that isn't new. The split is new. There are 3,523 high-skilled roles, and 89.21 per cent of those are expected to go to Malaysians.

Mei Ling He also said the industry should be judged by its contribution to the economy, not just the investment it attracts. On Tuesday, that was the test we said was missing.

Aiman Wait. A rule isn't a contract. Thirty per cent of what? Equipment, services, construction? The report doesn't say.

Raj My neighbour runs a small electrical firm in Kulim. Thirty per cent local sounds like his name is on it. But nobody has shown him the door.

Mei Ling That's the line to watch. Announcement, allocation, disbursement. For the US$50 billion, we're still on the first word. On Wednesday, we promised to check whether the Digital Ministry's AI Builders Hub opened by the end of October. In August, Minister Gobind said Rakyat Digital would introduce it from October. Today is the thirty-first. The plain answer is no.

Raj No as in late, or no as in cancelled?

Mei Ling Not open, and no new date that we could find. Today, rakyatdigital.gov.my still lists "AI Builder" in its menu, marked "Coming Soon". The Malay page says "Akan Datang", and there's no sign-up link. The reports we read of the minister's Wednesday speech didn't mention it either.

Raj So "from October" meant "from an October".

Mei Ling Fair. The page promises four things: a profile, builder events, progress tracked on GitHub, and a place to show your work. None of them is live yet.

Raj Hang on, say that again. GitHub? My daughter's doing her diploma in Ipoh, and she'd love that. My office admin would need a new language first. She's still typing in my printed invoices.

Aiman On the fourteenth, we split three ways on the Global Learning Pass, and I said the free version was enough. I'd still say that. It's the part of Rakyat Digital that's live today.

Mei Ling One more promise from this year's Budget. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, or MDEC, has RM30 million to help small firms adopt AI. On Tuesday it had no published rules. Today, MDEC's grants page showed us none either.

Raj So, two doors marked "soon". I'll tell my daughter to start the free course and keep checking lah.

Aiman Our sponsor gets a quick turn at the microphone. Then Mei Ling goes back over every call we made this week, including the ones that aged badly.

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Mei Ling The week revisited. Three calls, three Big Questions, and one thing we'd word differently. Monday's call was ChatGPT adverts at the RM35-a-day minimum. Aiman said pay for a test, I said it wasn't worth it, and Raj said stick to free channels.

Aiman This week helps my side a little. Google's search revenue grew 12 per cent, its slowest this year. An analyst quoted by Fortune worries AI is eating into search. Attention is moving to chatbots.

Mei Ling Attention was never my worry. Measurement was, and nothing this week fixed it. So my call stands.

Aiman I'd push back on that. A two-week test at RM35 a day costs RM490, and you can cap it there.

Mei Ling And afterwards, you still can't tell what the RM490 bought.

Aiman Okay, but let me finish my thought. Advertise one product, send people to one page, and count the enquiries by hand. Crude, but it's a number you can trust.

Mei Ling Fair, I hadn't treated a hand count as measurement. So it's a split. If you'll count by hand, a capped test is defensible. If you won't, my call stands.

Aiman Tuesday was ChatGPT Plus, at RM99.90 a month on Malaysia's App Store. What changed?

Mei Ling Nothing moved the price. Aiman said pay, I said the free tier was enough, and Raj said no. What I'd add is this. Bernama reports Budget 2027 adds 100,000 free AI subscriptions, so check whether you qualify before paying.

Aiman Wednesday was Workspace Business Standard, for live translation in Google Meet, at RM58.40 per user a month. I said pay, Mei Ling said no, and Raj said free tools were enough. My call stands, but I'd say it differently. It's per user, so twenty staff cost RM1,168 a month, about RM14,000 a year.

Mei Ling That's a lot of translation for one weekly call to a supplier in Shenzhen. Now the questions. Monday asked whether a Klang firm should run on a free foreign map app or an incomplete local one. We found no new official move since, so that stays open.

Aiman And Tuesday's?

Mei Ling Tuesday asked whether Malaysia should build national AI, or rent the best and fund adoption. This week sharpened it. The minister talked up a Sovereign AI Cloud and judged data centres by their contribution. Meanwhile, the adoption money still has no rules. Wednesday's question on accounting graduates had no new evidence, so it carries forward.

Aiman And the thing we'd word differently?

Mei Ling On Monday, we said Bloomberg named SoftBank. That's accurate, but we should have stressed it's a reported name. The Premier still won't name the investor, and SoftBank hasn't confirmed. From now on, we'll say "reported" more firmly.

Raj Here's the fork this week left us. Twenty-seven data centre projects must buy at least 30 per cent locally. The firms that win that work will mostly be the ones already big enough to bid.

Mei Ling Meanwhile, the RM30 million meant for 4,000 small firms still has no rules. The builder hub for ordinary Malaysians still says coming soon. So who should the next ringgit of public AI money serve first?

Raj Malaysian firms trying to qualify for data centre contracts, where the jobs are close and real? Or the shops and workers who will never sell to a data centre, but need help just to start?

Mei Ling Friday, the AI-YA team takes a position.

Aiman One thing for this weekend, and it takes under an hour. Open rakyatdigital.gov.my and go to the Digital Skills Hub. Read what the free Global Learning Pass covers, and pick one course you could finish in three months. Intakes come in cohorts of 25,000, so note when the next one opens. Then bookmark the AI Builder page, and check it again next Saturday.

Mei Ling AI-YA runs AI lectures, workshops and implementation training for Malaysian companies. Details at ai-ya.my/podcast.

Aiman Tomorrow is our Sunday practical. We'll use AI to sort a year of receipts for your income tax relief, in four concrete steps. You'll get real ringgit costs, and clear rules on what never to upload.

Raj Which story this week mattered most to you? The market slide, the data centre rules, or the builder hub that isn't open yet? Tell us in the comments on the episode page at podcast.ai-ya.my.

Mei Ling Let Saturday be slow, and let Monday wait its turn. Until tomorrow afternoon, look after the people sitting next to you.