AI Training in Kota Kinabalu and Borneo: What's Available in 2026

For years, the assumption was simple: if you wanted serious tech training, you flew to Kuala Lumpur. As someone who trains businesses on AI from right here in Penampang, I am happy to report that 2026 is the year that assumption died. Sabah is moving on AI, publicly and with money behind it, and the training options in Kota Kinabalu have grown up fast. Here is an honest local's map of what is happening and where to start.

Sabah is officially betting on AI

This is not just my optimism. In May 2026, Sabah's Deputy Chief Minister said AI is key to accelerating the state's digital transformation, naming big data analytics, automation of government services, cybersecurity and industrial productivity, in line with the SMJ 2.0 development roadmap, as reported by the Borneo Post. In June, the state government reaffirmed that it is ramping up human capital development specifically so Sabahans can work in AI, digital technology and other future industries. And in April, Sabah announced it is developing its first sovereign AI ecosystem for the education sector, building local AI capacity across schools and public universities.

One more date for your calendar: MyDEF 10.0, the Malaysia Digital Economy Forum, is being held at ITCC in Penampang on 11 August 2026. National digital economy conversations are literally happening in our backyard now.

What this means for a KK business

When the state pushes AI this hard, three things follow. Customers start expecting faster, smarter service. Grants and programs get easier to access. And the businesses that trained their people early get a visible edge over the ones that waited. The gap between an AI-trained team and an untrained one is not subtle: it shows up in how fast you quote, how good your marketing looks, and how many hours your admin actually takes.

The training options in Kota Kinabalu right now

So what can you actually book today, without an airport? Public AI workshops run regularly in the KK and Penampang area, including ours. NextGen Training Academy's next public class is the Claude AI Workshop for Beginners on Saturday, 18 July 2026 at ALKM, Penampang, at RM788 self-funded or RM888 HRDC-claimable. Our flagship one-day Master AI for Work Productivity workshop covers ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM, Veo 3 and Gamma, and runs both publicly and in-house. And two two-day deep dives are opening for interest registration: AI for Sales and Marketing at RM2,497, and Vibe Coding Mastery with Claude Code at RM2,997, where you build real software for your business. Everything is HRDC-claimable.

And the rest of Borneo?

Public classes cluster around Kota Kinabalu because that is where the people are, but in-house training travels. We deliver corporate AI training across Sabah, from KK to Sandakan and Tawau, in Labuan, and for companies in Sarawak. If your team is in Borneo, the trainer comes to you, your team learns on their own laptops and their own workflows, and the HRDC claim works exactly the same as it would in KL. That last point surprises people: your levy does not care which side of the South China Sea you are on.

Why train locally instead of flying out

• No flights, no hotels: the savings often cover another participant's seat.
• Local context: examples in class reflect Sabah businesses, not KL corporate case studies.
• Bilingual delivery: English and Bahasa Malaysia, switching as the room needs.
• Follow-up access: your trainer is in the same time zone and the same town when questions come up next month.

Sabah does not need to wait for anyone's permission to be good at AI. The tools are the same ones KL uses. The only question is who learns them first.from Edison Chua

Where to start

If you are one person: book a seat in a public workshop and become the AI person in your company. If you run a team: get in-house training so everyone levels up together on your own SOPs. Either way, if your company pays the HRD Corp levy, use it. Message us on WhatsApp at 011-3204 4931 and we will help you pick the right starting point, and handle the HRDC paperwork with you.