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MALAYSIA’S data centre industry has the potential to accelerate the country’s transformation into a leading technology nation, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong said on Thursday, emphasising its critical role in industrial growth, energy transition, and job creation.
Speaking at the Data Centre Nexus 2025 event in Kuala Lumpur, Liew highlighted the sector’s emerging prominence since the entry of hyperscalers in 2021 and stressed the importance of adopting a “whole-of-value-chain” investment strategy to maximise its impact.
“While data centres are not new to Malaysia, the idea of Malaysia becoming a data centre hub that fulfils not only domestic usage but also external demand is relatively new,” he said. “The new wave only took off in a big way in 2021, thanks to the entry of hyperscalers and the ecosystem around them.”
He outlined three strategic objectives for the sector: sustainable growth, the development of a full value chain from renewable energy to local service providers, and ensuring maximum benefits for the country and its people.
“Our goal should be to grow the sector sustainably, enable a localised, end-to-end value chain, and maintain strong public support through tangible national benefits,” he said.
According to Liew, Malaysia recorded RM278 billion in digital investments between 2021 and December 2024, with RM184.7 billion channelled into data centre-related projects. He proposed three key missions to steer the sector’s evolution.
“First, the sector must lead the energy transition. As the most important driver of rising energy demand, I would like to see the data centre sector become the most dynamic off-taker for renewable energy in Malaysia,” he said.
Secondly, he urged the localisation of the equipment supply chain to reduce reliance on the US and China.
“For a variety of reasons, I strongly believe that with the data centre sector as an off-taker, we could build a non-United States, non-China supply chain that will eventually serve the world,” Liew said. “More horizontal connections between the data centre sector and the semiconductor industry are something I hope to see developed as quickly as possible.”
The third mission, he added, is to create jobs across the data centre value chain, including engineering, construction, maintenance and operations.
“As more and more data centres are built in Malaysia, we would like to see a concerted effort to nurture a new generation of engineers,” he said. “I would like to see more emphasis on job creation across the entire value chain.”
Hosted by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the Data Centre Nexus 2025 event brought together over 400 stakeholders to strengthen the local digital ecosystem, close supply chain gaps, and promote cloud adoption.
MIDA CEO Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid said the agency is prioritising the development of a resilient local ecosystem alongside efforts to attract foreign investment.
“Our immediate focus is resolute, to establish a resilient, Malaysian-grown local supply chain that directly fuels the expansion of our vital data centre infrastructure amidst global uncertainties,” he said.
“The presence of supply chain companies here today signals the strength and direction of Malaysia’s growing digital ecosystem.”
Malaysia’s data centre market is projected to grow from US\$4.04 billion in 2024 to US\$13.57 billion by 2030, driven by a compound annual growth rate of 22.38 per cent. - May 8, 2025
