Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is preparing to launch an artificial intelligence avatar of himself, a rare step by a sitting head of government that highlights the growing use of AI-generated doubles in politics and business.
The avatar, called PMX AI, is a reference to Anwar’s position as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister. It was developed by Malaysian digital infrastructure firm Zetrix AI Bhd. in collaboration with Anwar’s political party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and is expected to launch within days, according to the prime minister’s office and reporting from Bloomberg.
The system has been trained on Anwar’s speeches, writings and his government’s policy record, and can respond to users in English and Malay. Unlike a conventional chatbot, PMX AI has been built as an agentic system, meaning it can carry out multistep tasks, such as walking a citizen through renewing a driver’s licence, sending a payment link and confirming the transaction, with minimal human intervention, according to Zetrix.
Zetrix group managing director TS Wong said the platform runs on a “personal knowledge” model continuously updated with Anwar’s latest speeches and public remarks. “AI will transform governance and politics,” Wong said. A launch video produced by the prime minister’s office describes the avatar in Anwar’s own voice: “It’s not merely an avatar. It is a digital extension of myself, ready to listen, assist and serve the people.”
Beyond government services, officials say PMX AI is intended to offer Malaysians personalized guidance on skills training, education and employment opportunities based on individual users’ circumstances. The launch comes as Anwar’s party positions itself ahead of national elections that must be held by early 2028.
Malaysia joins a small but growing group of countries experimenting with AI representations of political leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has used AI-generated multilingual messages, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has used AI to address audiences in multiple Indian languages, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung used an AI avatar extensively during his election campaign. Malaysia’s project goes further than most of those examples by giving the avatar agentic capabilities to complete tasks independently rather than simply deliver messages.
The launch is part of a broader digital and AI push by Anwar’s government. He announced Malaysia Digital 2030 on June 29, a national plan setting targets for the digital economy to contribute 30% of gross domestic product by 2030. Anwar has also said the government is finalizing an AI Governance Bill intended to work alongside the country’s existing Cybersecurity Act and data protection rules.
The initiative raises questions common to AI systems built to represent real public figures: who is accountable if the avatar provides incorrect information, how the system will be safeguarded against misuse during an election cycle, and how citizens will be able to distinguish the avatar’s responses from official government statements. The prime minister’s office has said further details on safeguards will be released alongside the official launch. Anwar has not personally commented on the avatar beyond the initial announcement.
