
Brunei remains committed to advancing ICT: senior official
Alimen Jaafar, Brunei country director of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area Business Council, said that Brunei's ICT sector serves as a platform for regional transformation and a key driver in narrowing development gaps, accelerating market access, and fostering innovation.
Sarimah Abdul Latiff, chairwoman of the Infocom Federation Brunei, described the event as a testament to Brunei's dedication to promoting innovation and cross-border cooperation.
The Innovate Tomorrow Forum brought together key stakeholders, industry leaders, government officials, and representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The event served as a platform to explore cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and future connectivity. - Xinhua
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Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Amir Hamdan appointed Prasarana group president, CEO
Amir Hamdan had been acting as Prasarana president and group CEO since July 15. PETALING JAYA : Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has appointed Amir Hamdan as its president and group CEO effective yesterday. Amir had been acting as Prasarana president and group CEO since July 15, taking over the posts in the interim following the end of Azharuddin Mat Sah's term. He joined Prasarana in 2019 as deputy chief financial officer before being appointed CEO of Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd in 2022 and then group chief operating officer (operations). Prasarana chairman Nasir Ahmad said the decision to appoint Amir to the posts was in view of his excellent performance and significant contributions since joining the company. 'His calm and authoritative leadership has proven his ability to lead Prasarana forward. 'The board of directors is confident that he can lead the organisation to greater achievements, in line with the national goal of strengthening the nation's public transportation system,' Nasir said in a statement. Amir thanked the board for entrusting him with the responsibility, vowing to embark on competitive, people-based and inclusive measures to strengthen public transportation in Malaysia.


Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Clean energy finance must keep pace with data centre boom — Nazrul Hazizi Noordin
AUGUST 16 — Malaysia is fast becoming a favoured destination for data centre investors. In just one year, between 2023 and 2024, investments to the sector increased from over US$10 billion (RM42 billion) to three times that amount. Driving the surge are international heavyweights. Microsoft is set to launch its first cloud region in Malaysia by mid-year, featuring three hyperscale data centres across Klang Valley and Johor, backed by a US$2.2 billion investment. Google, through Gamuda, is constructing a similar facility in Port Dickson, supported by a RM1 billion contract. Just last month, Alibaba Cloud unveiled its third Malaysian data centre. Thanks to this influx of capital, Malaysia is now the fastest-growing data centre market in Asia Pacific. Already the eighth-largest market by operational capacity in the region, and fourteenth globally, it could break into the global top ten within the next five to seven years. But behind this progress lies a looming challenge: a soaring energy demand. These data centres could soon account for as much as 30 per cent of the country's electricity use. While projections vary, experts warn that by 2035 their peak demand could swell to over 5,000 megawatts (MW). To put this into perspective, that is roughly equivalent to Singapore's total electricity consumption in 2023, or the output of five large coal plants, or enough to power 3.5 to 4 million average Malaysian homes for a year. That is a massive load for just one sector, placing immense strain on the national grid. While political actors often point to job creation and economic spillovers, the environmental costs payable by future generations yet to come are sobering. With 81 per cent of Malaysia's electricity in 2024 still generated from fossil fuels, meeting this new demand risks deepening dependence on carbon-intensive sources. At 5,000 MW, the sector could emit around 26 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, tantamount to adding 5.7 million petrol cars to the roads (more than a quarter of existing registered cars). Offsetting that footprint would require the carbon sequestration capacity of approximately 31 million hectares of forest in a year (almost the size of Malaysia's entire land area) or planting about 430 million tree seedlings and growing them for a decade. This is not a call for slowing digital development. Rather, the pace of investment in energy efficiency and clean energy must at least match, or ideally exceed, the sector's growth. Yet progress on both fronts remains far from adequate. By 2030, data centre utilisation density is projected to improve, from serving over 60,000 people per MW today to about 14,000 per MW. But this 80 per cent leap will still be easily outstripped by overall consumption growth. On the renewable side, the gap is even starker. The 5,000 MW of peak capacity data centres may require at a single point in time is equivalent to only half of Malaysia's total renewable energy output for the whole of 2023. This great shortfall is echoed at individual sites. AirTrunk's hyperscale facility in Johor, for example, has a solar-ready roof generating just 1 MW, barely 2 per cent of the energy needed for its current phase. The banking sector holds the keys to shifting this trajectory. That begins with rethinking their own lending philosophy. Financing efficiency and renewables can no longer be treated as a nice-to-have line item in their portfolios. It must rather be seen as a moral obligation. Because if it is treated as a matter of choice, it would never have been thought that there is anything inherently wrong with pouring money into 'dirty' energy production. This is not simply about doing the right thing for the planet. It is also about preserving their own existence. Factoring climate-related risks into stress testing and scenario analysis would likely paint a picture that their stranded assets are mounting as green technology becomes cheaper, regulations get tighter, and consumer climate consciousness spreads faster. At the end of the day, climate risk is financial risk. By 2030, data centre utilisation density is projected to improve, from serving over 60,000 people per MW today to about 14,000 per MW. — AFP pic Willingness alone, however, is not enough. Banks need innovative instruments that can move capital decisively. Two merit closer attention. At the consumption end, sustainability-linked financing (SLF) offers greater flexibility than traditional green loans, which restrict use of proceeds to environmental projects. SLF instead allows funding for general corporate purposes but ties pricing and terms to meeting predefined sustainability performance targets. For data centre operators, these could include improved power usage effectiveness, increased renewable energy procurement, on-site solar installation, or lower carbon emissions per megawatt-hour consumed. Meeting those targets triggers lower financing costs, nudging them to reduce fossil fuel reliance. On the supply side, the concept of debt-for-nature swaps, traditionally used in the sovereign debt space, could be adapted for corporate debtors, particularly energy companies seeking to pivot from fossil fuels. Under such a structure, debt is forgiven or repurchased at a discount by private investors, development banks, government agencies or philanthropic funds, in exchange for the company committing to redirect the freed-up amount into renewable projects. Though not yet mainstream, this approach presents a promising pathway for aligning corporate debt management with climate goals while building long-term energy resilience. Malaysia's rise as a regional data centre hub is inevitable. But without aligning its digital growth with clean energy finance, the country risks locking itself into a high-carbon future just as the world moves the other way. Investors and lenders must channel capital towards energy efficiency and renewables with the same urgency that is powering data centre expansion. Seizing this moment will speak volumes about their commitment to reaching net zero. * Dr Nazrul Hazizi Noordin is an assistant professor at the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, International Islamic University Malaysia. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.

Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Police arrest more suspects, including ‘Datuk Seri', in MBI investment fraud probe
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