The government will only approve new data centre projects after ensuring there is sufficient energy and water capacity to support them without affecting households or local industries, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Sim Tze Tzin said.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, Sim said the Data Centre Task Force (DCTF) evaluates every application by assessing power and water supply capacity before any approval is granted.
“The water supply must be prioritised for residents and Malaysians. So, only when there is excess capacity will we approve it for the data centre companies,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Wira Dr Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu).
He added that the government is committed to ensuring electricity supply for data centres does not come at the expense of consumers, while noting that Malaysia currently has sufficient excess capacity to meet demand from projects being assessed by the DCTF.
Separately, Sim said the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) has delivered encouraging progress, with approved investments in the semiconductor sector reaching RM91.9 billion between January 2024 and March 2026.
Of the total, foreign direct investment accounted for RM82.9 billion while domestic direct investment contributed RM8.9 billion.
He also said the government is targeting to train 60,000 workers under its talent development initiative, with 18,062 local talents trained as of December 2025. The remarks were made in response to a question from Chong Zhemin (Kampar) on Malaysia’s strategy to attract semiconductor and artificial intelligence investments.
