{
  "id": 18883600,
  "title": "No water to cook or bathe: Indonesians protest data centre boom as Malaysia expands its own",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/no-water-to-cook-or-bathe-indonesians-protest-data-centre-boom-as",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-08T06:37:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/region/2026/11/1573291/no-water-cook-or-bathe-indonesians-protest-data-centre-boom-malaysia"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indonesians are protesting as data centers sprout up on Batam Island, an area dealing with a severe drought fueled by low rainfall and exacerbated by a strong El Nino cycle. While residents initially welcomed the influx of industry, recent water shortages have led to widespread outrage, especially in regions close to Singapore, where new tech facilities are seen as prime locations. At the Nongsa Digital Park, a data center cluster designated as a special economic zone, people have staged protests, alleging that the water crisis is linked to the construction of the data centers. Local water operators claim the reservoirs have run low due to the drought, and supply systems were further disrupted by an electrical fault. To avoid straining local resources, companies operating or planning data centers at Nongsa Digital Park must now build seawater desalination plants for cooling. Despite the government's efforts to distribute water from tanks, locals complain that the water is \"smelly\" and \"yellowish.\" The government denies the data centers are responsible for the water disruptions, attributing the issue to weather and climate factors. As Southeast Asia's data center capacity is projected to triple by 2030, concerns over the environmental impact and water scarcity loom large, particularly in regions like Johor, Malaysia, which is rapidly becoming an AI infrastructure hub.",
  "summary": "BATAM: Cooking and bathing became difficult when taps ran dry in Batam, an Indonesian island where residents are protesting as data centres spring up to power the global artificial intelligence boom.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Indonesians furious as Batam data centres drain taps: ‘we cannot cook without water’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/indonesians-furious-as-batam-data-centres-drain-taps-we-cannot-cook",
        "published": "2026-11-08T03:51:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}