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THE Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) has clarified that a recently reported artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure initiative involving Skyvast Corporation and Huawei Technologies is not part of any official Malaysian government programme or bilateral agreement.
In a statement issued today, MITI said the initiative was “not developed, endorsed, or coordinated by the Government of Malaysia, nor does it form part of any Government-to-Government agreement or nationally mandated technology programme.”
While the MADANI Government supports efforts to build AI-powered infrastructure to improve public sector capabilities, the ministry stressed that any such undertaking must undergo “the appropriate level of legal, operational, and reputational processes and due diligence that are required for a project of such significance.”
MITI reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to complying fully with international export control laws, national security directives, and emerging global standards.
“Malaysia remains committed to full compliance with all applicable export control laws, national security directives, and emerging guidance from global regulatory authorities, especially those that uphold the highest standards of transparency, accountability, neutrality and security,” the ministry said.
These principles, it added, must be rooted in multilateralism with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the central framework.
At the same time, Malaysia emphasised its sovereign right to shape its own technology policy in line with national interests, while enabling technological innovation for the benefit of global research and humanity.
“Malaysia also reaffirms its sovereign right to formulate its policies in line with national interests, while facilitating transformative technologies that continue to support global research and innovation in the development of advanced technologies for the good of humanity,” the statement read.
Bloomberg, in an article on Monday, entitled ‘Malaysia Downplays Huawei Deal as US Checks China’s AI Reach’ reported that Malaysia declared it’ll build a first-of-its-kind AI system powered by Huawei Technologies Co. chips, only to distance itself from that statement a day later, underscoring the Asian nation’s delicate position in the US-Chinese AI race.
Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching had said in a speech her country would be the first to activate an unspecified class of Huawei “Ascend GPU-powered AI servers at national scale.”
Malaysia would deploy 3,000 units of Huawei’s primary AI offering by 2026, she said in prepared remarks reviewed by Bloomberg News. Chinese startup DeepSeek would also make one of its AI models available to the Southeast Asian country, the official added.
Ambiguity arose as Bloomberg cited that: “When reached for comment by Bloomberg News on Tuesday, Teo’s office said it’s retracting her remarks on Huawei without explanation. It’s unclear whether the project will proceed as planned, leadin to the present statement being released by MITI - May 21, 2025