In a post on X, he said these investments 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 artificial intelligence (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, had chaired the 4th National Investment Council (NIC) meeting for the year.

He said the NIC had agreed with the investment, trade and industry ministry (Miti) to enhance the current incentives 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 water transformation ministry to provide sufficient renewable energy for AI data centres,” said Anwar.

“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 the 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, Miti minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz posted on X that Miti, via Mida, is expected to develop a special incentives framework for AI data centres.