5 rules to ensure data centres benefit everyday Malaysians
America ran the great data centre experiment first, and the results are in: Where governments designed well, residents got tax cuts and new schools; where they did not, families got power bill shocks. Malaysia still gets to choose which of those households it puts its rakyat in.
Johor leads Asia Pacific in data centre capacity with 8,542 megawatts, while Malaysia approved 143 projects worth RM144.4 billion between 2021 and mid-2025. Concerns arise whether these data centres will consume excessive water, electricity, and burden the bill on Malaysians. A similar situation unfolded in the U.S. where data centres contributed to a 63% increase in power prices and a 26.3% hike in Virginia's retail electricity rates.
Job creation also fell short, with Malaysia's flagship projects expected to create only 1,429 jobs. Nevertheless, there are successful examples like Loudoun County in Virginia, which generated RM400 million annually from data centres and reduced property taxes for ten years. The key to success lies in design, not luck. The five rules for data centres to benefit Malaysians are: 1) data centres should pay their own way, 2) water resources must be protected, 3) operators should be taxed fully with receipts disclosed, 4) they should not occupy farmland, and 5) the truth about jobs must be openly discussed.
Malaysia has already initiated steps towards these rules, and by following America's example, we can ensure a prosperous outcome for all Malaysians.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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