Indonesia advances digital sovereignty and entrepreneurship as Malaysia adopts AI for forest monitoring

Indonesian parliament member Azis Subekti urged the country to build digital sovereignty, describing the shift of global power to data, AI and undersea cables. He outlined three interconnected foundations: strengthening physical digital infrastructure such as fiber‑optic networks and submarine cables; developing the digital economy through cloud computing, AI, cybersecurity and a domestic software industry; and raising public capacity with digital literacy, algorithmic ethics and protection against disinformation.

Researcher Rezky Reza Pratama of the NEXT Indonesia Center warned that Indonesia’s digital economy is still driven mainly by consumer e‑commerce. While online shoppers are projected to rise from 14.9 million in 2019 to 54 million by 2025, the number of digital entrepreneurs has stagnated around 9 million. He called for policies that enable more people to turn internet connectivity into income‑generating activities.

In Malaysia, Professor Mohd Hasmadi Ismail of Universiti Putra Malaysia highlighted how artificial‑intelligence, GIS, remote sensing and UAVs can improve forest monitoring. A study of the Cameron Highlands showed a loss of 35.98 km² of primary forest between 2019‑2024, a rise of 51.61 km² in agriculture and a 7.5 °C increase in surface temperature, underscoring the need for data‑driven forest‑management policies.