Rakyat Digital expands with free Coursera and AI tools as Malaysia works towards AI Nation 2030

The government has given its Rakyat Digital learning platform a big expansion, and the part worth paying attention to is the free access attached to it. Through the platform, eligible Malaysians can pick up three months of free access to leading AI tools, along with three months of free Coursera. Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo launched the expanded platform at the Malaysia AI Takeover 2026 (AIMTO_26) event at The Campus, Ampang.

Rakyat Digital itself isn’t new, it first went live back in January 2024 as the government’s online learning platform. What’s changed is the scope, with the focus widening from basic digital literacy to a broader AI and digital learning ecosystem built around three priorities the ministry calls the 3As: Awareness, Access and Adoption.

As announced earlier by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, up to 100,000 Malaysians aged 18 to 30 will get three months of free access to leading AI tools, starting 31 August 2026. You’ll get in by completing a set of designated learning modules on the Rakyat Digital platform, covering:

AI Safety
CyberSAFE for Rakyat
Generative AI
Agentic AI
Cloud for Rakyat
A new module on Malaysia MADANI values and principles

In terms of access, the government-funded Global Learning Pass provides access to courses and certifications on Coursera. The programme kicks off on 16 September 2026, with 25,000 Malaysians admitted every three months and each participant receiving three months of complimentary access fully funded by the government.

There’s a third piece coming too. From October 2026, Rakyat Digital will introduce an AI Builders Hub, a hybrid pathway designed to help participants apply what they have learned and develop their own AI solutions — or, as Gobind put it, create things that are “Made by Malaysia.”

The broader goal is to move Malaysia beyond simply using technology developed elsewhere and encourage more people to become innovators and creators. This also ties into Malaysia’s wider ambition of becoming an AI Nation by 2030, with the government looking to build a larger pool of people who can not only use AI, but also create solutions around it.

If you want in, the easiest way to start is to head over to the Rakyat Digital portal to register and work through the modules.

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