KUCHING: The Sarawak Civil Service has welcomed a new digital colleague with the launch of ADAM AI, the Sarawak Government’s first on-premises artificial intelligence (AI) assistant developed specifically for Sarawak civil servants.

Developed under the leadership of the Sarawak Civil Service Digitalisation Unit (SCSDU), ADAM AI was officially launched on 7 July 2026 in conjunction with Sarawak Government Digital Week 2026.

Unlike publicly available AI platforms, ADAM is designed exclusively for Sarawak Civil servants.

It is hosted entirely within the Sarawak Government’s own digital infrastructure, ensuring data sovereignty while enabling officers to work with authorised government information in a secure environment.

Making its debut dressed in a neat grey suit and tie, ADAM’s avatar reflects the professionalism, credibility and service-oriented values of the Sarawak Civil Service, while remaining approachable enough to feel like a trusted digital colleague.

Press Secretary to the Sarawak Secretary, Nur Shazreena Ali, has been using ADAM to support her daily work, including speech preparation, document searches, policy research, fact-checking and information verification.

She said ADAM’s greatest strength lies not merely in retrieving information quickly, but in retrieving information from authorised government sources.

“What sets ADAM apart is not simply its ability to retrieve information quickly, but its ability to retrieve information from authorised government documents, connect relevant information across multiple sources and, equally importantly, acknowledge when the requested information is unavailable.

“Rather than attempting to fill the gaps with assumptions, ADAM clearly states the limitations of its authorised knowledge base.”

Its knowledge-based agents are supported by an expanding repository of approved Government documents, policies, circulars, guidelines and other official reference materials.

Unlike open AI platforms that generate responses using publicly available internet content, ADAM uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to retrieve relevant information from authorised government repositories before generating responses, providing greater reliability for official government work.

Through her experience using ADAM, Nur Shazreena said the AI assistant also reinforces the Sarawak Civil Service’s 3R framework, namely Revisit, Rethink and Recharge.

While researching the history of Wisma Bapa Malaysia, ADAM acknowledged that it did not possess sufficient authorised information to provide a comprehensive answer.

The experience highlighted an important lesson: valuable government knowledge may already exist in speeches, reports, publications, archival records, UKAS news reports and other official sources, but unless these materials are properly verified, organised, classified and maintained within authorised repositories, AI systems cannot effectively retrieve or utilise them.

“This experience reminds us to revisit the knowledge we already possess, rethink how government information is organised and shared, and recharge our commitment to preserving institutional memory for the AI era,” she said.

She added that the recently launched Sarawak Data Governance Framework (SDGF) provides the foundation for ensuring that government information remains accurate, trusted, secure, current and accessible.

However, she noted that achieving Sarawak’s aspiration of becoming a data-driven government by 2030 will also require capable digital officers, reliable infrastructure, strong connectivity and committed leadership.

During the launch of the SDGF, Sarawak State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki reminded heads of departments, ministries, agencies and units that building a data-driven government begins with leadership.

He said leaders must not only use digital systems but also champion sound data governance across their respective organisations.

The Sarawak Government has already laid much of the groundwork through initiatives such as SCS Mobile++, e-Performance, the Sarawak Data Management System (SDMS) and AI digital literacy competency programmes, reinforcing its commitment to building a modern, secure and data-driven public service. -UKASnews