PETALING JAYA, Jan 16 — The United States government’s potential restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) chip exports will not affect existing data centres in Malaysia, said Deputy Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.
He said the government will assess the potential impact on future arrangements.
“We will engage internally, we will engage the stakeholders, we will also engage the incoming US administration to understand the extent of the regulation,” he told reporters after his keynote address at the CEO Series: Economy & Business Forum 2025 today.
In response to reports about the US-proposed AI chip export restrictions, Liew said Malaysia and other Tier 2 countries have strategies to address the situation.
“We will seize the opportunity to engage with the incoming administration when it arises,” he added.
The report said under the new restrictions, US-based companies can apply for blanket permission to ship chips to data centres worldwide, as long as no more than 25 per cent of their total computing power is located outside of Tier 1 countries and no more than 7 per cent in any single Tier 2 country.
During his keynote address, Liew emphasised the need for Malaysia to establish robust domestic linkages that benefit both investors and the nation.
He pointed out that many of Malaysia’s industrial parks have become overly focused on real estate development, which does little to support the country’s broader economic goals.
“As the global supply chain has relocated over the past several years, it is evident that investors choose Malaysia not because we have many industrial parks but because we have a strong ecosystem.
“Factories have been vertically linked globally but have very little connections or linkages domestically,” he said.
Hence, Liew said Malaysia must position itself as a secure and resilient supply chain.
He noted that industrial parks should focus on developing supply chains and ecosystems rather than being treated merely as real estate projects.
“When building industrial parks, we must change the mindset of separating workplaces from residences or places of living,” he stated.
Addressing the role of community building in the era of environmental, social, and governance priorities, Liew expressed hope real estate developers would embrace their role as nation-builders with a mission to create sustainable and inclusive communities.
He also said that the real estate industry’s potential for innovation, pointing out its adoption of automation and the increased use of industrial building systems.
The deputy minister said this shift could lead to hiring more Malaysians at higher wages while reducing reliance on unskilled foreign labour.
“The biggest challenge for all of us in the years to come is to build with reduced emissions from all aspects. We will have to build communities that rely less on private cars and design our buildings to require less air conditioning and thus have less energy consumption,” he added.
— Bernama
