Sarawak esports chief shares AI insights at global summit in South Korea

KUCHING (Feb 11): Sarawak’s Afiq Fadhli Narawi has represented Malaysia as a panellist at the 10th International Esports Federation (IESF) World Esports Summit in Busan, South Korea.

Afiq, who is Malaysia Esports Federation (MESF) deputy president, an IESF board member, and Sarawak Esports Association (Sesa) president, joined global experts to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on competitive gaming.

The two-day summit on Feb 10-11 brought together esports leaders, academics, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to address emerging trends and challenges in the sector.

Afiq featured in a panel titled ‘AI and Esports: Leap or Threat?’, where he shared practical insights from Malaysia and Sarawak’s esports development programmes.

“In our training programmes, we use AI to translate raw performance data into actionable coaching insights,” Afiq said during the discussion.

“For example, in sim racing, AI helps analyse telemetry data and converts it into clear guidance on braking, cornering speed, and consistency. We are also applying similar approaches in eFootball, Tekken 8, and other esports titles.”

While acknowledging AI as a valuable tool for athlete development, Afiq stressed the importance of proper governance.

“AI should train the athlete, not replace the athlete. My key concern is data security. Performance data is highly sensitive. If mishandled or leaked, it could provide opponents with a competitive blueprint,” he warned.

Afiq added federations must take the lead in setting clear ethical boundaries.

“If federations do not set clear rules now, those rules will be defined for us by technology vendors or commercial interests. Integrity must come before innovation speed.”

He added it was an honour to represent Malaysia at the World Esports Summit.

Other panellists were Dr Seth Jenny from Slippery Rock University (USA), Ignat Bobrovich of Estonia-based Valvur, and Dr Tsubasa Shinohara of the University of Tsukuba, Japan, while IESF board member from Namibia Flip De Bruyn moderated the session.

IESF, founded in 2008, represents over 150 national federations worldwide and promotes governance, integrity, and sustainable development in esports.