The Sarawak State Government may soon develop its own artificial intelligence (AI) Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), which would consolidate local data and share it globally.
This move was touted by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who was inspired by the highly successful AI model from China founded by Chinese engineer Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek, which recently turned the AI industry, especially in the West, on its head.
Sarawak Premier envisions the state developing its own AI model similar to DeepSeek, called ‘DeepSar’

Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg
In fact, Abang Johari was so inspired by DeepSeek that he touted the name of Sarawak’s self-developed AI model as ‘DeepSar’ when he proposed the idea during his speech at the Chinese New Year dinner organised by the Sarawak Multimedia Authority on Friday (7 February).
BERNAMA quoted the Sarawak Premier as saying,
“I hope that one day, we will have DeepSar, founded by Sarawakians, featuring content unique to Sarawak, facilitating digital conversations between Sarawakians and the world,”
Abang Johari added that a home-grown AI platform will assist Sarawak in showcasing its rich biodiversity. Accordingly, he has tasked state-owned ICT solutions provider SAINS Sdn Bhd with consolidating relevant data.

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Furthermore, the Sarawak Premier asserted that as a global hub for rainforests and biodiversity, Sarawak could share its knowledge worldwide, which in turn would create new economic opportunities for the state.
He added,
“We can offer insights into the economics of biodiversity resources. When this information is downloaded, it will not be free – eight billion people could access it, but we must secure patents and rights over our biodiversity resources,”
Besides that, Abang Johari also shared that the Sarawak Government is promoting the development of microchip design, which is a key component in data transfer.

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So, what do you guys think of the Sarawak Premier’s statement? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: The US is Investigating If China Smuggled Chips from Malaysia to Develop ‘Disruptive’ DeepSeek AI