KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that Malaysia is not living in a comfortable space and must remain competitive to foster local industries and build the internal strength of the country.
According to Bernama, Anwar noted that despite the flourishing foreign investment and appealing trade aspects, investors must recognise the strength of the local industry.
“When we talk about investing in the industrial, digital, energy, and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, the approval process for investors needs to be expedited through collaboration with local industries,” Anwar said in his keynote speech at the Industry Excellence Award 2024 ceremony, here this evening.
Anwar highlighted that through discussions at the National Investment Council meeting, the government has paid attention to the complaints and proposals submitted by the local industry.
“We are not living in a comfortable space or a culture of contentment or complacency.
“During the meeting, we identify our shortcomings and weaknesses, what we should do to improve…what else we hear from the industry and investors that we should review and work on,” he said.
He stressed that while the country has achieved various advances, it still does not match the strengths of neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
“We are no longer in a comfortable space so we compare and see what is special and the strengths of our neighbours who compete with us and we identify the problem and we emphasise the need for change,” he said.
Earlier today, Anwar said Malaysia has approved RM114.7 billion worth of investments in data centres and cloud services between 2021 and 2023.
In a post on X, he said these investments have created 2,325 high-value new jobs in specialised fields such as data scientists, data analysts, data engineers, cybersecurity analysts, and network engineers.
He said that the Madani government is committed to positioning Malaysia as a sustainable AI data centre destination in Southeast Asia, as part of its effort to strengthen the country’s position as a leading global investment destination.
Earlier on, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, chaired the 4th National Investment Council (NIC) meeting for the year.
He said the NIC had agreed for the Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry (Miti) to enhance the current incentive framework for AI data centres via the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).
This includes the mechanism on the usage of energy and water-efficient equipment, as well as collaboration with the Energy Transition and Natural Resources Ministry to provide sufficient renewable energy for AI data centres, the prime minister said.
“During the meeting, I emphasised a whole-of-government approach in the ongoing efforts to encourage investment in AI-based data centre sectors, particularly in boosting economic benefits through digitalisation and increasing the economic complexity of various sectors in Malaysia.
“The framework will also include matching data centre players with local companies for the development of local vendors, especially small and medium enterprises, as well as fostering industry-academia collaborations to drive innovation in the development of energy-efficient equipment and software,” he said.
Earlier today, Trade Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz posted on X that the ministry, via Mida, will develop a special incentives framework for AI data centres. – June 11, 2024