Microsoft stays the course in Malaysia amid global pullbacks on data centres
This comes despite reports that the company has paused or delayed similar projects in several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Indonesia.
'Microsoft remains committed to our investment in Malaysia to accelerate the nation's AI and cloud adoption,' a representative for Microsoft Malaysia told news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
'As a company, the tariff is something we are watching, but we don't have anything to share right now,' the same unnamed source was quoted as saying, referring to market concerns triggered by US tariffs announced in April.
In the same month, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was scaling back plans for its US data centres in Illinois, North Dakota and Wisconsin, as well as in other countries.
The company said these changes reflect the flexibility of its global infrastructure strategy.
Last month, Microsoft launched its Malaysia West cloud region in Greater Kuala Lumpur, which includes three availability zones.
The facility is expected to offer low-latency connectivity and a resilient digital infrastructure supporting services like Microsoft 365 and Azure.
Microsoft is also pushing forward with its AI for Malaysia's Future (AIForMYFuture) initiative to develop local talent.
Its managing director Laurence Si previously said the company aims to train 800,000 Malaysians in artificial intelligence by the end of 2025.
As of May, more than 400,000 people have already received AI training through the programme, Microsoft Malaysia's legal and government affairs director Adilah Junid told FMT.
She encouraged Malaysians to take part via Microsoft's AI Skills Navigator website and the monthly AI Teach sessions at local institutions.
'Microsoft relies heavily on local partners such as Biji-Biji, HRD Corp, Perkeso, Pepper Labs, and the International Women's Federation of Commerce and Industry Malaysia,' Adilah was quoted as saying.
'They are really the ones to have networks within the community and society, enabling us to make this opportunity as widely accessible as possible,' she added.
Addressing environmental concerns, Adilah said Microsoft is exploring ways to make its data centre operations more sustainable.
'We were part of the consultations with the digital ministry's guidelines for sustainable data centres.
'We also work with authorities to ensure that our water and energy usage metrics are aligned,' she was quoted as saying.
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