Kastam gagalkan cubaan transit server cip AI hampir RM49.5 juta di KLIA

Kuala Lumpur International Airport's customs officials have thwarted an attempt to transit 30 sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) servers, valued at nearly RM49.5 million, through the airport. The investigation revealed that all servers were allegedly smuggled into Malaysia from an Asian country via air, with the intention of bypassing authorities and later exporting them to another Asian nation.

Aspalila AG Tuah, the head of KLIA Customs, reported that the seizure occurred on October 15 at a warehouse within the Free Trade Zone at KLIA. The early investigation found that all servers were supposedly brought in as electronic components to avoid detection, before being exported to another Asian country. Meanwhile, Masyita Ismail, deputy head of the Strategic Trade, Trade and Industry Secretariat at the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), said that high-capacity AI servers are strictly controlled due to their dual-use categorization, as they could be used for the development of mass destruction weapons under the Strategic Trade Act (STA) 2010.

MITI has issued Control Order 1/2025 to regulate the export, transit, and transfer of AI servers, requiring a 30-day permit application for servers with a processing performance of over 1,600 or a performance ratio of more than 3.2. Aspalila confirmed that this was the fifth seizure involving the same syndicate this year, with the total value of all seizures exceeding RM100 million.

Asked about the status of the previous cases, Aspalila said that the forwarding business controlling companies have been contacted for assistance, but no arrests have been made yet. All cases are being investigated under Section 12 of the Strategic Trade Act 2010, which provides penalties ranging from RM20,000 to RM10,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both, for both companies and individuals found guilty.