He said Malaysia was in a strong position thanks to its existing 5G network built on trusted suppliers, making the country attractive to high-tech industries.

“You do not want to be operating in a place where your intellectual property (IP) can be stolen.

“And in that regard, Malaysia has a tremendous advantage because of the fact it has a 5G network built on trusted technology from trusted suppliers,” he said after delivering a keynote speech at the Penang Institute here.

Asked if his comments hinted at the potential role of China-based tech companies in Malaysia’s 5G network, Kagan simply reiterated his earlier stand.

“I’m just talking about the importance of having trusted vendors, equipment and networks that can be trusted.”

Kagan said protecting IP rights was critical for Malaysia’s aspirations to move up the value chain and attract investments from cutting-edge companies.

He said decisions on technology investments were often driven by concerns about internet protocol security rather than geopolitical tensions.

“There’s a tendency to look at investment and manufacturing shifts as driven by geopolitical tension and there’s some truth to that.

“But it’s also worth remembering that a lot of companies started moving production out of China based on concerns about IP rights.

“That would have happened completely separate from whatever geopolitical tension (there was).”

Malaysia has secured over US$20 billion in investments from global tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle and Infineon in the past two years.

Chinese firm ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has also committed US$350 million to expand its data centre operations, aiming to make Malaysia a regional AI hub.

Chinese tech company Huawei has been a long-time partner of U Mobile Sdn Bhd, which was recently selected to roll out Malaysia’s second 5G network.

Two analysts reportedly warned that a partnership with Huawei for the implementation of the second 5G network could deter Western tech investors, due to accusations of espionage and IP theft against the Chinese firm.