KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — All applications for new data centre projects undergo strict assessments to ensure electricity and water supplies to households and local industries are not affected, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin said today.
He said the Data Centre Task Force assesses each application based on factors including investment requirements and project capacity to safeguard the country’s energy security.
“The government is always careful when approving applications related to data centres,” he said during question time in the Dewan Negara.
He was responding to Senator Susan Chemerai Anding, who asked how the government would ensure that the growth of data centres did not compromise electricity supplies to households and industries.
Responding to a separate question, Sim said the government’s New Incentive Framework could provide incentives to multinational corporations that introduce high-impact technology and develop local vendors, particularly in rural and less-developed areas.
He said the government had also organised matching programmes between multinational corporations and local companies to help small and medium enterprises become suppliers.
“The government also encourages the use of at least 40 per cent local content through the Malaysian Certificate of Origin. This can help local companies to some extent,” he said.
Sim was responding to Senator Tan Sri Low Kian Chuan, who asked how the government was helping local SMEs benefit from multinational investments in the artificial intelligence, semiconductor and biotechnology sectors.
