- Voices from Sunway Blockchain Club and Core DAO on navigating AI, blockchain, and decentralized futures.
- Balancing regulatory oversight with innovation in Web 3.0, with risk of excessive control slowing growth
Malaysia today stands at a critical juncture in its digital transformation journey. The challenge is clear: how can the country balance necessary regulatory oversight with the rapid pace of technological change in Web 3.0? Too much control risks stifling growth. Too little risks instability.
This dilemma was at the heart of a recent panel organised by the Sunway Blockchain Club (SBCC) in partnership with Core DAO. Harpreet Singh Mann, President of ACCESS Blockchain Malaysia, summarised the stakes succinctly: “If we do not change the way we think, or the way we adopt technology, we are bound to be disrupted.”
The panel included Dr Meera Eeswaran from the Fintech Academy at Asia Pacific University (APU), Syakir Hashim from Nawa Finance, and Jevon Cheng, Head of Commercial at Tokenize Malaysia. Together, they collectively explored the evolving role of blockchain and AI in Malaysia’s digital economy.
For SBCC, founded in 2023, this fell within their ambit to equip the next generation with Web3 skills, not just in technical domains, but also across business, design, law, multimedia, and HR. Through workshops, mentorship, and industry connections, they aim to form a bridge between academia and industry.
Joshua Ahimaz, President and co-founder of SBCC, noted that hosting the Core DAO community marked a significant milestone: “This partnership is the beginning of new avenues for students and developers alike who want to venture into new forms of DeFi beyond traditional ETH-based builds.”
Blockchain’s Shift to Real-World Use Cases
One recurring theme was blockchain’s shift from being a commodity in speculative cryptocurrency trading, toward practical tools like fractionalised investing and infrastructure crowdfunding. This shift has been facilitated by asset tokenisation, and enables smaller investors to access opportunities once dominated by wealthier players, marking a meaningful step toward democratising investment in Malaysia.
“(There are) physical infrastructure networks that previously relied on commercial loans (and) bank loans to actually expand… What if I can crowdfund it, not through any centralised body, but through a decentralised body?”, as Jevon Cheng explained. “You can crowdfund for a company. You can crowdfund to build a farm. Even agriculture, there’s a lot of enablers that can be taken into consideration.”
The conversation then turned to artificial intelligence (AI), noted for increasing efficiency via automated delegation while also raising valid concerns around data protection and trust. Harpreet painted a scenario of the emerging “age of delegation” where AI handles daily tasks seamlessly: “Your schedule managed by your AI scheduler,” was how he put it. “When you reach your office, and you enter your door, there’s a coffee waiting right (from) Starbucks.”
Yet this convenience comes with new challenges. Users face what Harpreet called “subscription fatigue”—the mental burden of managing countless digital services and notifications. For Web 3.0 to succeed, he argued, AI must integrate unobtrusively while safeguarding privacy and enabling user ownership of data through decentralised mechanisms.
“What we have today is 1000 apps, with a million notifications popping up on our phone and screens every day that we don’t want to see.”
Navigating Regulatory and Decentralisation Tensions
As the panel continued, they debated how government regulation could work in contrast with blockchain’s decentralised spirit. While oversight is necessary for user protection, too much control could stifle innovation.
Harpreet urged Malaysian authorities to embrace new mindsets to foster innovation that could “push our GDP forward” and help the country remain globally competitive. This aligns with Malaysia’s aim to reduce dependency on foreign technology players, whose dominance leads to capital outflows and geopolitical vulnerability.
One example of something unique to Malaysia’s landscape is the potential for Shariah-compliant Web 3 initiatives. Syakir from Nawa Finance praised the Malaysian Securities Commission’s (SC) progressive stance, noting that it was one of the first regulators in the world that classified cryptocurrencies as a commodity.
“If something is treated as a currency, then there are many rules in Islamic finance that apply to that asset class, which would make it very difficult for exchanges to operate.” However, treating it as an asset helped sidestep certain restrictions, and the SC created regulatory clarity while enabling innovation within an Islamic finance framework.
Political will and national objectives
The risk of such innovation can be managed through the use of regulatory sandboxes, where innovators and policymakers collaborate in controlled environments to test and learn from new solutions.
More than that, there must be the political will. “When you want to build confidence in the nation to innovate, it has to be consistent,” observed Hapreet. “The Prime Minister must have the political will to say we are a blockchain-powered country (and) we will look into AI. These are our national objectives.”
Insofar as ambitions are concerned, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will release an Exposure Draft on Open Finance soon and aims to finalise policy by next year. Additionally, a discussion paper on asset tokenisation outlining a collaborative approach, guidance for developing use cases, and user safeguards will also be published by year-end. These measures are intended to ensure tokenisation delivers practical value and is responsibly explored within Malaysia’s financial sector.
Indeed, a recurring theme was the critical need for collaboration among industry, academia, and policymakers. Stakeholders underscored that public education, clear regulatory frameworks, and startup incentives are vital to nurturing Malaysia’s Web 3.0 ecosystem.
Syakir’s commendation of Malaysia’s regulatory approach relative to other countries exemplifies progress rooted in cooperation and pragmatic policy. As somebody who has previously worked with the SEC and UK FCA, he holds the SC and Bank Negara in high regard. While innovation is not necessarily immediate, these institutions listen to feedback and are consultative with the aim of eventually innovating. “In the West, regulators tend to be punitive towards innovation. Malaysian regulators have balanced innovation and consumer protection well”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
