KUALA LUMPUR – The ballroom of the ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit 2025 was buzzing with anticipation. Industry leaders, tech innovators, and international delegates filled every seat, the air thick with excitement as the country’s most ambitious AI project prepared to make its debut.
At precisely the right moment, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pressed the launch button, and the name ILMU lit up on the giant LED screen behind him. Applause rippled through the room, cameras flashed, and a new chapter in Malaysia’s technological story began.
Developed entirely on home soil by YTL AI Labs in partnership with the University of Malaya, ILMU short for Intelek Luhur Malaysia Untukmu is Malaysia’s first large multimodal language model (LLM). Unlike foreign AI platforms, ILMU carries the pulse of the nation in its design: understanding local languages, respecting cultural nuance, and serving needs unique to Malaysians.
“This is more than just technology,” declared Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh Deo, in his keynote. “ILMU embodies our vision for a digital future that is inclusive, culturally relevant, and built on our own capabilities.
“It shows that Malaysia can create world-class AI infrastructure while protecting our linguistic and cultural identity.”
AI With a Malaysian Soul
ILMU’s abilities stretch beyond just processing text. It can understand and generate speech, craft images, and adapt to the way Malaysians truly speak from formal Bahasa Melayu to Manglish and even regional dialects like Kelantanese.
Security and sovereignty were at the heart of its development. Hosted entirely on YTL AI Cloud, the model ensures that Malaysian data remains in Malaysia, backed by enterprise-grade performance, scalability, and local governance standards.
“ILMU represents YTL’s commitment to innovation rooted in Malaysia’s rich cultural and intellectual heritage,” said Dato’ Seri Yeoh Seok Hong, Managing Director of YTL Power International Berhad. “This is a national capability that can drive productivity, build smarter systems, and create progress that includes everyone from government and businesses to everyday Malaysians.”
On Par With Global AI Giants
Far from being a niche local tool, ILMU stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the most advanced AI systems in the world. Across international benchmarks, it performs on par with GPT-4o and Llama 3.1.
In fact, it achieved the highest global score for Malay language understanding (MalayMMLU), outperforming all other leading models. On real-world problem-solving tests, it surpasses Llama 3.1, and in complex instruction-following tasks, it matches GPT-4o’s accuracy.
Foong Chee Mun, CEO of YTL AI Labs, summed it up plainly:
“When it comes to Bahasa Melayu, ILMU is the best-performing LLM in the world. It’s already solving real problems across industries. Now that our API is open, we invite developers, startups, and enterprises to build with us and shape Malaysia’s AI future together.”
RM5 Million to Boost Local Innovation
To accelerate adoption, YTL AI Labs also announced the ILMU AI Accelerator Programme in partnership with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). The initiative offers RM5 million in free ILMU API credits, Malaysia Digital status benefits, and fast-track work passes and visas for eligible startups, SMEs, and global partners ready to build AI solutions grounded in local needs but scalable worldwide.
Within minutes of the launch, it was clear that ILMU already had industry backing. Early adopters include Aco Tech, Ryt Bank, Astro, Media Prima, Yes, Carsome, Swipey, Vision Machina, Vistel, TeeniAI, TrustAI, and Mesolitica a strong vote of confidence in the model’s capability and relevance.
Mark Your Calendar: September 16
For the public, ILMU will make its first appearance in the form of ILMUchat, a consumer-friendly AI chatbot, set for early access on Malaysia Day, 16 September 2025.
As the launch wrapped up, conversations spilled into the networking halls. Delegates discussed potential applications in education, healthcare, finance, and media.
There was a shared sense that this was more than a product unveiling it was the unveiling of Malaysia’s place in the global AI arena.
In the words of one attendee, glancing at the glowing ILMU logo on the main screen: “It feels like we’re witnessing history and it’s written in our own language.” -MalayaDailyToday
