As businesses navigate the growing influence of artificial intelligence, a gathering at Sunway University turned attention to a question that technology alone cannot answer: how can companies modernise while preserving the human relationships that make business work?

The Internet Alliance Business Summit 2026, held on 8 October under the theme “Rehumanising Business”, brought together the business and university communities for a programme spanning AI, corporate culture, professional change and payments. Its combination of keynote sessions, workshops, roundtables and inter-association networking gave participants several ways to engage with the challenges facing their organisations.

The theme connected these different subjects through a practical concern. Businesses need to adapt, but the choices they make about technology also affect employees, customers and the trust between them.

AI and the people making business decisions

The programme opened with Lance Cheang, founder and managing director of Vlan Asia, who served as organising chairperson and vice president of Internet Alliance Malaysia. The welcome address was assigned to Prof Chai Lay Ching, Sunway University’s pro vice-chancellor for Education, Employability and Alumni.

One of the programme’s most striking keynote titles was “AI does not care, So your business must”, presented by How Lih Ren, chief business officer of U Mobile. The title captured the tension at the centre of the summit: businesses can use increasingly capable tools, while responsibility for their impact remains with people.

For a company adopting AI, that responsibility reaches into everyday decisions. How will staff learn to use a new system? Who checks its output? What happens when a customer needs a person to resolve a problem? These questions give the summit’s theme relevance beyond the technology sector.

The programme also made room for creativity and organisational life. Mandy Yeoh, regional managing director of Oligo Asia, was listed for “Art and Corporate Culture”, bringing a cultural dimension to a business agenda otherwise strongly shaped by technological change.

Cheah Chun How, managing director of High Pines Training & Consultancy Sdn Bhd and treasurer of Internet Alliance Malaysia, was listed for “Accountants: Change or Be Replaced”. Alongside the AI keynote, the session title highlighted the pressure on professionals to keep developing their skills as business practices evolve.

Jason Phua, head of clients of Visa Malaysia, was listed for “Beyond Real-Time: Empowering Malaysian SMBs for Better Business Payments”. Its inclusion kept the programme connected to the operating needs of small and medium businesses, where payment processes form part of the daily experience of running a company.

Internet Alliance (IA) president Dr Sunny Ooi addresses participants during the summit. Photo: Keith Thong.


Making room for conversation and connection

The afternoon format extended the gathering beyond keynote presentations. Two parallel tracks offered inter-association networking, workshops on rethinking entrepreneurship and driving sales in 2026, and roundtables focused on finding business and supporting people.

That mix addressed an important need for business owners: space to talk through their own circumstances. A workshop can help participants examine an approach, while a roundtable creates room to compare experiences. Inter-association networking opens the possibility of relationships across different business communities.

The group photograph supplied from the summit shows a sizeable gathering on Sunway University’s staircase, with participants posing with a hand over their hearts. It offers a fitting visual expression of “Rehumanising Business”, placing the people who attended at the centre of the event’s story.

The IA Media team poses beside audio production equipment during the summit. Photo: Keith Thong.


The programme named Internet Alliance Malaysia and Sunway University’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology among the organisers, alongside the Sunway Analytics Society and Engineering & Computing X-Ploration. It identified U Business as the 5G connectivity partner and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation as a supporter.

Closing proceedings were scheduled to be jointly led by Dr Sunny Ooi, founder and chief executive officer of ClickAsia and Internet Alliance president, and Prof Dr Angela Lee, deputy dean of Sunway University’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology, followed by networking drinks.

The summit’s value lies in the connection it made between business transformation and human responsibility. Its agenda treated culture, skills and relationships as part of the work of adapting to change. The next opportunity is for participants to carry those conversations into their organisations, through thoughtful technology choices, staff development and continued collaboration.

This content is provided by Internet Alliance

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