Energy & Technology

Technology was supposed to make running a business easier. Instead, many entrepreneurs now find themselves surrounded by software—accounting platforms, dashboards, reporting systems, automation tools and increasingly, artificial intelligence. Each promises greater productivity. Each also asks users to learn another system. CEO of Gold-Cheers Holding (M) Sdn. Bhd – Mohamed Ayub Khan. For large companies with dedicated teams, that may be manageable. For a small-business owner already juggling customers, employees, cash flow and compliance, technology can sometimes become another job. Gold-Cheers Holding (M) Sdn. Bhd. sees an opportunity in that contradiction. Rather than asking how much more technology can do, the Malaysian company is asking a different question: how much easier can it become to use?   When Accounting Becomes a Conversation One answer is Senang Akaun AI. Gold-Cheers developed the voice-driven accounting platform around an unusually simple proposition: instead of requiring business owners to learn how an accounting system works, why not allow them to speak to it? Users can record transactions and manage financial information through natural conversation, with the platform designed to reduce the technical barrier traditionally associated with accounting software. The idea says something larger about where Gold-Cheers believes business technology is heading. For years, digital transformation largely meant convincing businesses to adapt their processes to software. Artificial intelligence potentially reverses that relationship. Systems can increasingly understand natural language and respond to the way people already communicate. In other words, people may no longer need to learn the language of software. Software can learn theirs. Gold-Cheers is applying the same philosophy to SenangBrain AI, an intelligent business assistant designed to automate repetitive work and help organisations draw useful insights from their data.   The Digital Divide Has Changed Access to technology used to be largely about whether a business could afford it. That problem has not disappeared, but another divide has emerged: whether people can actually use the technology available to them effectively. Gold-Cheers serves SMEs, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, government agencies, educational institutions and other organisations. Across those groups, it identified a recurring problem. Businesses did not necessarily need more features. They needed fewer barriers. That distinction is particularly relevant as AI adoption accelerates. Companies everywhere are racing to add artificial intelligence to existing products. But adding AI does not automatically make software more useful. A powerful system that remains difficult to understand can simply create a more sophisticated form of frustration. Gold-Cheers is taking the opposite approach: use AI to remove complexity. That may prove particularly relevant across Southeast Asia, where millions of smaller enterprises represent an enormous market for digital solutions but differ significantly in resources, technical expertise and readiness.   Scaling Simplicity The paradox is that making something simple can be technically difficult. A platform that feels effortless to the customer still requires infrastructure, product development and systems capable of handling increasing numbers of users reliably. Gold-Cheers is therefore thinking about scale at two levels. The first is technological. Platforms such as Senang Akaun AI are intended to serve potentially large numbers of users without requiring resources to increase at the same rate. The second is more human: trust. As adoption grows, the company has to ensure that its products remain reliable, accessible and genuinely useful rather than accumulating complexity as more features are introduced. Its growth strategy combines continued product development with ecosystem partnerships and measured operational expansion. The company is also looking beyond Malaysia. The challenges it sees among local SMEs—financial management, productivity, digital adoption and limited technical resources—are hardly unique to one country. That creates the possibility of taking solutions developed around Malaysian business realities into the wider Southeast Asian market.   The Next Battle in AI Gold-Cheers ultimately wants to build more than individual software products. Its longer-term ambition is an integrated ecosystem where businesses can manage finances, operations, reporting, compliance and decision-making through connected intelligent tools. Getting there will require partnerships with government agencies, cooperatives, educational institutions and industry players, alongside continued investment in its technology. But the bigger question may be whether Gold-Cheers can protect the idea that differentiated it as those products become more sophisticated. The technology industry has traditionally competed by offering more: more features, more functionality, more processing power. AI may change the equation. As intelligent systems become increasingly powerful and widely available, the advantage may shift from who has the most technology to who makes that technology easiest for ordinary people to use. The future of business software could therefore become surprisingly simple. The smartest system in the room may be the one you barely have to think about.  

South Korea’s dominant chat app operator Kakao Corp said on Friday that it plans to spin off its chat app-based platform business into a new company, tentatively named KakaoAI, while retaining its investment operations under a firm to be renamed KakaoX. Through this move, the company is seeking to address a conglomerate discount and strengthen business specialisation, Kakao said in a regulatory filing. The company expects the new entity to relist on the Korea Exchange on Jan 27, 2027, following a planned split on Jan 1. KakaoAI will focus on AI, advertising, commerce and the KakaoTalk chat app platform, while KakaoX will manage and develop holdings across areas including fintech, content and mobility, Kakao said. The company set 2030 targets of six trillion won (US$4.34 billion or RM17.57 billion) or more in revenue, along with an operating margin above 30%, for KakaoAI. Meanwhile, KakaoX has been set a target of 10 trillion won or more in revenue for the same year. Kakao reported consolidated revenue of 8.1 trillion won in 2025, according to the company. Kakao also pledged 300 billion won worth of share buy-backs and cancellations over the next three years following the split.

Most people never think about the systems keeping a building alive. The cooling runs. The electricity stays on. Fire protection sits quietly in the background. Servers continue processing data. Employees arrive, work and leave without giving much thought to the engineering infrastructure surrounding them. Until something stops. Managing Director of Zofar Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Sdn. Bhd – Chow Kok Loong. For Zofar Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Sdn. Bhd., that invisible dependency has been the foundation of a business more than two decades in the making. Established in 2002, the Malaysian company began in building maintenance before expanding into mechanical and electrical engineering, covering air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation, electrical systems, fire suppression, facility upgrading and, increasingly, data centre infrastructure. Its job, stripped of the engineering terminology, is straightforward: keep its customers running.   When Downtime Becomes a Business Risk That responsibility has become considerably more important since Zofar began. Buildings are smarter and more technologically dependent. Commercial facilities are under pressure to consume energy more efficiently. And the rapid expansion of data infrastructure has created environments where reliability is no longer merely a facilities-management concern. For a data centre, even a relatively small disruption can carry significant operational and financial consequences. It changes the role of the engineering company maintaining the systems behind it. Zofar identified this issue early. Businesses could find contractors to install or repair equipment, but what they often needed was a technical partner that understood their facilities over time—one capable of responding when problems emerged and anticipating what would be required next. The company consequently evolved from predominantly building maintenance into integrated engineering and lifecycle support, spanning system design and installation through testing, commissioning, preventive maintenance and upgrades. The shift reflects a larger change in the industry: maintenance is increasingly less about fixing what has broken and more about preventing the interruption in the first place.   Building a Business That Can Take the Shock Zofar is also applying the idea of resilience to itself. Its “622 Business Strategy” divides its targeted revenue mix across three areas: 60% project execution, 20% spare-parts trading and 20% maintenance and facilities management. The mathematics reveals the strategy. Engineering projects can generate substantial revenue but remain exposed to construction and investment cycles. Maintenance contracts and spare-parts activities create a recurring layer around that project business, reducing dependence on any single source of income. As the company grows, however, complexity grows with it. More projects mean more sites, suppliers, customers and technical requirements—all of which have to be coordinated without sacrificing the responsiveness that helped build the company in the first place. Zofar has established dedicated Coordination and Supplier Management teams to manage that pressure while strengthening relationships with global technology partners. Its challenge now is familiar to many growing companies: becoming more structured without becoming slower.   The People Behind the Infrastructure There is another part of Zofar’s business that is less visible than its engineering. Its workforce is entirely local, reflecting a deliberate commitment to developing Malaysian technical talent. Women account for approximately 40% of its employees—significant in an industry traditionally associated with a predominantly male workforce. For Zofar, developing technical capability is not separate from its growth strategy. The more critical the infrastructure it is trusted to manage, the more important the expertise of the people behind it becomes. The company has similarly begun embedding sustainability into operational decisions. E-waste and project materials are channelled through licensed recovery partners for recycling where possible, while a Sustainable Purchasing Policy gives preference to recyclable materials and products with lower environmental impact. These are relatively practical measures rather than grand environmental declarations—and that is largely the point.   Preparing for What Cannot Stop Zofar’s next ambition is to move further from being regarded as an M&E service provider towards becoming an integrated engineering partner, particularly for data centres and other critical infrastructure. Doing so will require deeper technical capabilities, stronger systems and partnerships, and an organisation capable of coordinating increasingly complex work at scale. But the fundamental proposition has changed remarkably little since 2002. Modern economies depend on an enormous amount of infrastructure that most of us rarely see. As buildings become more connected and businesses more dependent on uninterrupted technology, the cost of that infrastructure failing only increases. Zofar operates in the space between everything working normally and everything suddenly not. In that business, success is often almost invisible. Nothing happens. And everything keeps going.  

Buying technology has never been easier. Making it work for a business is another matter. For Asia Plus Office Automation Sdn. Bhd., that distinction has shaped nearly two decades in an industry where machines, software and increasingly sophisticated automation are readily available—but where the expertise required to turn them into productive business tools remains far less interchangeable. Founder of Asia Plus – Mr.Anson. Established in 2008, Asia Plus provides office automation, print finishing and web-to-print e-commerce solutions to corporate offices, educational institutions, government agencies and commercial printing businesses across Malaysia. Its portfolio includes its ROYALTECH® house brand alongside selected technology solutions. But the company has increasingly built its identity around what happens after the equipment arrives: consultation, technical expertise, training and after-sales support.   The Machine Was Never the Whole Answer Asia Plus spotted the problem early. Businesses had access to an expanding range of office and printing equipment, but purchasing the right machine did not necessarily mean they knew how to use it effectively—or integrate it into an existing operation. Many suppliers were built around the transaction. Once the sale was completed, customers were largely left to navigate workflow problems, technical issues and productivity challenges themselves. Asia Plus saw an opportunity to occupy the space between selling technology and making technology useful. That distinction has become more relevant as businesses pursue automation and digitalisation. The question is increasingly not simply what technology should we buy? but what will it actually change? For Asia Plus, the answer should ultimately appear in productivity, profitability or the creation of new revenue opportunities.   Automation With a Business Case Technology can eliminate manual processes, streamline workflows and increase capacity. But automation without a clear operational purpose can just as easily become another expensive piece of infrastructure. Asia Plus therefore works with customers to understand how a solution fits into the wider business before focusing on the equipment itself. Web-to-print e-commerce, for example, represents more than moving a printing process online. Properly implemented, it can alter how orders are received and processed, reduce manual intervention and potentially open new commercial channels. Print finishing technology can similarly affect turnaround times, capacity and the range of services a commercial printer is able to offer. This business-outcome approach is now influencing Asia Plus’s strategic direction as it expands its technology portfolio and strengthens ROYALTECH®.   The Value of the People Behind the Technology There is an irony at the centre of automation: the more businesses depend on machines, the more valuable the right people can become when those machines stop working. For production-driven customers, downtime is not merely inconvenient. It can interrupt workflow, delay orders and directly affect revenue. Asia Plus has consequently continued investing in technical talent, troubleshooting capabilities, training and after-sales service—even as price competition intensifies. It is an investment customers may rarely notice when everything is working correctly. That is precisely the point. Products can often be sourced elsewhere. Technical knowledge, responsiveness and an organisation willing to remain accountable after a sale are more difficult to substitute. Asia Plus believes this support ecosystem has been central to building long-term customer relationships and differentiating the business in a market where competing on price alone can quickly become a race to the bottom.   Building ROYALTECH® for the Next Chapter The next stage of the company’s development will place greater emphasis on its ROYALTECH® brand while continuing to broaden its print finishing, web-to-print and office automation capabilities. But Asia Plus is not defining that ambition simply through a larger product catalogue. It intends to continue investing in the people and organisational capabilities surrounding those technologies, with the aim of building a stronger and more resilient enterprise rather than pursuing expansion for its own sake. It is a relatively traditional philosophy for an increasingly digital industry: technology matters, but trust still matters more. Since 2008, the machines have become smarter, workflows more connected and automation more sophisticated. That evolution will continue. Yet for the businesses buying those technologies, one question remains surprisingly human: when something goes wrong, who will be there to make it work again? Asia Plus is building its future around having an answer.  

DPS Resources Bhd says its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shantawood Sdn Bhd (SSB), is exploring a collaboration with BBSB Holdings Sdn Bhd for a phased approach to developing up to 89 megawatts (MW) of data centre capacity in Malaysia. Under the proposed agreement, BBSB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed BBSB International Ltd, may participate as a strategic partner in the planning, development and utilisation of the data centre infrastructure to be built by SSB. This collaboration would include supporting the identification and coordination of potential users, tenants or capacity requirements, subject to further discussions and the execution of definitive agreements between the parties. DPS Resources group chairman and founder Tan Sri Sow Chin Chuan. In a statement, DPS Resources said the phased data centre capacity lease of up to 89MW will be rolled out across four distinct phases over the coming years. The target delivery schedule comprises 20MW in 2027 under Phase 1, followed by another 20MW in 2028 under Phase 2, a further 20MW in 2029 under Phase 3, and the final 29MW in 2030 under Phase 4. Beyond the initial 89MW rollout, the company said the parties may also explore further discussions on expanding the project to an aggregate capacity of up to 400MW, signalling significant long-term ambitions for the data centre development. DPS Resources group chairman and founder Tan Sri Sow Chin Chuan said the collaboration reflects the company’s strategy of leveraging its existing assets to capture opportunities in the growing digital infrastructure space. “As a landowner with existing factory rights and infrastructure development capabilities, DPS is focused on unlocking the long-term value of our assets through high-specification digital infrastructure,” he said. The proposed partnership underscores the growing interest among Malaysian companies in tapping into the region’s booming data centre industry, driven by rising demand for digital infrastructure to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other data-intensive applications across Southeast Asia.

EITA Resources Bhd has accepted a letter of award from Prasarana Malaysia Bhd for the proposed upgrading of existing lifts and escalators at light rail transit (LRT) stations spanning from Gombak to Kelana Jaya, including the Subang Depot along the Kelana Jaya Line, in a contract worth RM62.3 million. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, EITA Resources said the project is expected to be completed within 48 months from the date of commencement, or from the issuance of the notice to proceed, whichever comes first. The company noted that the board does not anticipate the award having any material impact on the group’s earnings for the financial year ending Sept 30, 2026, given the scale of the project relative to the group’s overall operations. “The company does not foresee any exceptional risk other than the operational risk associated with the award,” the filing added, suggesting that the project is expected to proceed within the normal course of the group’s business activities without introducing significant additional financial or operational exposure. The contract adds to EITA Resources’ portfolio of infrastructure-related projects, reinforcing the company’s presence in the maintenance and upgrading segment of Malaysia’s public transportation network. The upgrading works are expected to enhance passenger accessibility and improve the overall commuter experience along one of the Klang Valley’s key LRT corridors, which serves high traffic volumes on a daily basis.

A Malaysian AI-powered instant review system (IRS), the world’s first for disputed badminton line calls, has moved from domestic tournaments to the international stage, making its debut at the Singapore International Challenge 2026. Known as Reveal Lens, the BWF approved technology developed by Revealtek Sdn Bhd was used at the Aug 18 to 23 tournament to review contested line calls. The Singapore outing puts the Malaysian developed system on an international platform as Revealtek looks to expand its use beyond the country, following deployments at several local tournaments. Co-founder and chief executive officer Nizam Mohamed said the technology demonstrated how AI could be used to enhance badminton officiating and match reviews. “It is more like the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) that is available in football and tennis. “It is very similar to it, but it goes ahead and gives a decision based on some calculations as opposed to just showing a video replay,” he told Bernama on Friday. He said Reveal Lens was designed with a wireless setup that can be installed within two hours, unlike more extensive systems that require substantial infrastructure and lengthy calibration. Reveal Lens, BWF-approved and world’s first IRS deployed at the Singapore International Challenge 2026.  The company is now looking at opportunities to bring the technology to other badminton markets, with organisers and associations in Vietnam and Indonesia having expressed interest following its local deployments. Nizam said Revealtek was also in discussions with continental confederations, with the aim of having the technology endorsed as a standard for use by their member associations. “We are also in discussions with the continental confederations. What we are trying to do is to make this a standard that they can endorse, so all member associations can use this technology as standard practice,” he said. Apart from instant reviews, Revealtek is developing an analytics module and a fully functioning line calling system that could perform the essential work of line judges during matches. “We are going to do the demo in an upcoming tournament in Australia in October,” he added. Nizam said the company also planned to broaden the application of AI and other locally developed technologies across the sports industry, while contributing to the growth of Malaysia’s sports technology ecosystem. ““We want to provide accurate and reliable technology at a more accessible cost, while meeting the different requirements of tournaments at various levels,” he said.  The Singapore deployment also drew strong interest from regional badminton associations, with discussions on potential collaboration and wider adoption of Reveal Lens across tournaments and institutions. Reveal Lens, BWF-approved IRS in action at the Singapore International Challenge 2026.  One of the event highlights was a special exhibition doubles match featuring Singapore’s Minister for Law Edwin Tong and Indonesian badminton legend and former Olympic gold medallist Hendra Setiawan against PT Djarum COO Victor Hartono and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Terry Hee

Inokom Corporation Sdn Bhd officially unveiled a new facility on Tuesday, doubling its total painting capacity at its flagship Kulim complex. The RM300 million facility, named Paint Shop 3 (PS3), is capable of processing up to 50,000 painted vehicle bodies annually under a two-shift operation, bringing Inokom’s combined paint shop capacity to 100,000 units a year, the company said in a statement. “The investment is aimed at positioning Inokom as the manufacturing partner of choice for local and regional automotive ecosystems, while creating employment opportunities and enhancing competitiveness,” it said. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani visiting Paint Shop 3. Inokom, which assembles vehicles for seven brands at its 200-acre manufacturing hub in Kulim, Kedah, is 51%-owned by Sime Darby Bhd. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company holds a 15% stake in Inokom, while their joint venture, Sime Hyundai Sdn Bhd, owns 5%. The remaining 29% is held by Bermaz Auto Bhd, which mainly assembles Mazda-branded vehicles. Described as one of Sime’s largest manufacturing investments to date, PS3 marks “a significant enhancement to Inokom’s manufacturing ecosystem,” said Syed Ahmad Muzri Syed Faiz, managing director of Sime Motors’ assembly and strategic businesses. “The facility expands our painting capacity, increases production flexibility and strengthens our ability to support the evolving requirements of our customers,” he added.

ITMAX System Bhd’s latest RM134 million smart city project in Kota Kinabalu is expected to boost the annual revenue run rate of its supply and installation division, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB). ITMAX has accepted the notification of approval as the Universal Service Provider for the Kota Kinabalu Smart City Project from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). HLIB said the project mainly involves a network operation command centre and around 1,500 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, with supply and installation revenue recognised over the first two years, followed by five years of managed services. “Beyond the initial contract period, we see scope for ITMAX to secure a longer-term managed services agreement with Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), potentially spanning 15 to 20 years, upon project completion. Coupled with the recently secured DBKL smart street-lighting contract, this award should lift the annual revenue run rate of ITMAX’s supply and installation division towards about RM80 million to RM100 million, by our estimates,” it said. HLIB added that ITMAX’s successful expansion into Sabah, Johor and Penang, beyond its traditional Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) market, reinforces the competitiveness of its smart city solutions. It noted that Selangor is the next key state to watch, with CCTV contracts potentially coming up for tender in 2027-2028 following the award of SIP Phase 2. “As the operator of SIP Phase 1, ITMAX has an upper hand in demonstrating the effectiveness of its solutions. More importantly, some CCTVs installed for parking-payment enforcement under Phase 1 could also support broader surveillance functions, giving ITMAX an existing infrastructure base and a potential advantage when bidding for Selangor’s CCTV contract,” it said. HLIB also flagged Penang as an emerging growth market, after local councils awarded contracts to fully replace around 1,000 existing CCTVs. Overall, the firm maintained its “Buy” call on ITMAX with an unchanged target price of RM6.00. “Over time, we also expect ITMAX to further monetise its infrastructure through smart city applications such as digital twins, traffic impact assessments and analytics, cementing its role as a key enabler of urban digital transformation,” it added.

MN Holdings Bhd’s unincorporated joint venture with Pembinaan Tajri Sdn Bhd (PTSB) has secured a RM122.31 million contract from Tenaga Nasional Bhd to install a new underground power cable system between Tasek Gelugor and Bertam. According to a statement on Monday, PTSB will lead the project, with MN Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary, MN Utilities Engineering Sdn Bhd, handling 80% of the work and PTSB the remaining 20%. Both parties will jointly oversee execution and completion. The scope covers engineering, design, supply and installation of the cable system, along with related works such as obtaining permits and restoring affected surfaces and structures. The contract took effect on Monday, Aug 10, and is expected to be completed within 450 days, or about 15 months from the commencement date. MN Holdings managing director Datuk Clement Toh said the contract strengthens the group’s position in Malaysia’s power transmission infrastructure, amid rising electricity demand and continued investment to improve grid reliability. The group said the award also widens its infrastructure project portfolio beyond the data centre segment, as it pursues opportunities across Malaysia’s power, utilities and energy infrastructure sectors. MN Holdings, which mainly serves power utilities, is also seeking to transfer its listing from the ACE Market to the Main Market, having secured approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia in July. The group has benefited from rising investment in Malaysia’s power infrastructure, including grid upgrades to support growing electricity demand from data centres, while also expanding into renewable energy projects. Shares of MN Holdings closed up nine sen, or 2.97%, at RM3.12 on Monday, valuing the group at around RM2.09 billion.