KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia approved 25 data centre investment projects between 2021 and March 31, 2025, amounting to a total of RM144.4 billion, according to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).
Citing data from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), MITI said the projects, approved under the Digital Ecosystem Acceleration Scheme (DESAC), are expected to create 1,429 high-skilled and high-income job opportunities.
“These roles include engineers, data scientists, big data analysts, cybersecurity experts, and IT engineers. Over half of these positions will offer salaries exceeding RM5,000,” the ministry said in a written reply published on Parliament’s website.
The statement was in response to a question from Aminolhuda Hassan (PH-Sri Gading) regarding the job opportunities and economic impact of the country’s expanding data centre industry.
To assess broader benefits, MITI will conduct a survey examining the economic spillover of the sector. Data will be collected from four main segments: data centre operators, major tech and content providers, telecom and mobile network firms, and equipment and service suppliers within the data centre ecosystem.
MITI also noted that several global tech giants have pledged to create around 67,000 direct and indirect jobs in Malaysia’s IT sector and related industries once their projects are fully realised.
In addition to employment gains, the government is working to strengthen vertical integration between the semiconductor and data centre sectors by encouraging the use of locally produced semiconductor components in the data centre supply chain.
