AI Untuk Rakyat: How to get your free AI subscription from the government

On August 30 — the eve of Merdeka — Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced a free AI programme ; AI Untuk Rakyat for Malaysians aged 18 to 30. Complete five online courses and get three months of free AI software. No cost. No catch.

If you are between 18 and 30, a Malaysian citizen, and have not registered yet, you still have time. The courses are already live. The subscription is waiting. This article tells you everything you need to know in one read.

The programme is called AI Untuk Rakyat. It runs through the government’s Rakyat Digital platform at rakyatdigital.gov.my. Complete five courses and pass the assessments. You then receive three months of free ILMUchat Pro — YTL AI Labs’ generative AI platform. Think of it as Malaysia’s answer to ChatGPT, built locally and optimised for Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Who qualifies for AI Untuk Rakyat

The eligibility requirements are simple and firm. You must be a Malaysian citizen. You must be aged between 18 and 30. You must complete and pass all five prescribed courses on the Rakyat Digital platform.

There are no income requirements. There are no geographic restrictions. Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Bharu — the programme is open everywhere. There is no application form to fill in. You register, you learn, you claim.

The programme targets 100,000 participants in phases. The first phase covers 25,000 participants and begins September 16. If you complete your courses before the first phase opens, you will be among the first to receive the subscription.

The courses themselves are free and open to all Malaysian citizens regardless of age. Only the three-month AI subscription is restricted to those aged 18 to 30.

How to participate — step by step

Step 1 — Register on Rakyat Digital
Go to rakyatdigital.gov.my. Sign up with your email address or Google account. Registration takes about two minutes and is free. You will need a MyDigital ID to verify your identity when claiming the subscription. Register at mydigital.gov.my before you begin if you do not have one yet.

Step 2 — Enrol in the five prescribed courses
Once registered, go to the Digital Literacy Hub. Enrol in the five courses: AI Safety, CyberSAFE Untuk Rakyat, Generative AI, Agentic AI For All, and Cloud Untuk Rakyat. All five are free and self-paced. Each course ends with an assessment you must pass.

Step 3 — Complete and pass all five
Work through the content and complete the assessments. The courses are designed for everyday Malaysians with no technical background. Each module takes between one and three hours depending on your pace.

Step 4 — Claim your subscription
Once all five courses are completed and passed, go to your Rakyat Digital dashboard. Select ILMUchat Pro. You will be redirected to ILMUchat and prompted to log in with your MyDigital ID to verify eligibility. Once verified, your three-month free subscription activates.

What you get — ILMUchat Pro

ILMUchat Pro is the AI platform developed by YTL AI Labs. It handles Bahasa Malaysia, English and a range of local contexts that global platforms sometimes handle less naturally.

With Pro, you can write, summarise documents, answer research questions, generate content, translate text and draft emails. The Pro tier gives you higher usage limits and access to more capable model versions than the free tier.

Three months is enough time to build genuine AI habits. The goal is to build a generation of Malaysians who use AI in real work. Not just those who know it exists.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Digital has set a target of 80% digital literacy and 700,000 retrained workers as part of the Digital 2030 agenda. The programme fits Malaysia’s broader push. Young Malaysians need to be ready for an economy where AI tools are part of everyday work.

The urgency is real. Studies estimate 697,000 Malaysian jobs face disruption from AI automation. The government wants Malaysians to use AI — not be replaced by it. “AI is for the people,” PM Anwar said at the launch. “Communication that AI is for the people must be a priority,” he said.

The Rakyat Digital platform already has a track record. The 2024 version handed out digital badges and recorded one million completions. The 2026 version adds actual tool access — so learning translates into practice.

Everything you need at a glance

Register today at rakyatdigital.gov.my. The courses are live now. The first phase begins September 16. Finish your five courses before then and you will be first in line.

Sources: Rakyat Digital, Soyacincau, Lowyat.net, Malay Mail, The Vibes, PM’s National Day Address 30 August 2026