A night view near Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan 29, 2024. | Xinhua Photo
The Malaysian government is currently drafting a comprehensive framework for the sustainable development of data centers. The aim is to align the country's rapidly expanding digital infrastructure with its sustainability goals, addressing the pressing environmental challenges posed by the technology sector.
As Malaysia is fully engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) development, this framework represents a crucial step towards balancing economic growth with environmental responsibility.
The driving force behind this initiative is the recognition of the urgent need for sustainable practices in the tech industry. It involves various key stakeholders, such as government agencies, industry leaders, and environmental organizations.
Earlier this month, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Utilities, noted at the "Forward Faster Now | Asia and Oceania" event by UN Global Compact that his department has proposed views on the sustainable development of the data center industry. This industry is a key part of the government's National Energy Transition Roadmap launched last year. He further emphasized that investors in the data center industry should meet the requirements and responsibilities of sustainability goals.
According to the London-based research firm BMI statistics, from 2023 to the first half of 2024, the cumulative capacity of data center projects announced by investors in Malaysia has exceeded 2.11 gigawatts (GW).
Notably, Johor has emerged as Southeast Asia's fastest-growing data center market, with a total supply exceeding 1.6 GW, thanks to its strategic location and abundant resources.
This trend has attracted global tech giants such as Google, ByteDance, and Microsoft, all of which have shown interest in establishing data centers or AI hubs in Malaysia. These companies have committed investments amounting to billions of dollars.
With this momentum, the Malaysian government has indicated that the positive signals released by local data centers suggest that the goal of achieving RM3.6 billion (approximately CNY 5.749 billion) in 25 years is on track. By comparison, the overall revenue scale of Malaysia's data industry was RM2.09 billion (approximately CNY 3.374 billion) last year.
Malaysia has approved data center and cloud services investments totaling RM114.7 billion, creating over 2,300 high-value new jobs. Tech giants including Google, ByteDance, and Microsoft have expressed their desire to establish data centers or AI hubs in the country, with a collective committed investment of billions of dollars.
The Malaysian government is positively addressing the challenges posed by the rapid growth of the data center industry through measures such as formulating a sustainable development framework, enhancing regulations, and promoting technological innovation.
As relative measures are scheduled to be unveiled in September, according to the official government, Malaysia's data center industry is expected to achieve more sustainable development.
Reporter: Sophia Chen (Intern), Clonde Zhang
Editor: Steven Yuan, Monica Liu, James
