20/05/2025

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TUESDAY | MAY 20, 2025

M’sia rolls out sovereign full-stack AI infrastructure

Penang steps up overseas missions in preparation for higher US tariffs GEORGE TOWN: Penang, through its state investment agency InvestPenang, is actively conducting investment and trade missions to foreign countries to reduce the impact of the US tariff hike on the state’s economy. Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the effort is aimed at attracting new investors and seeking new market opportunities including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Europe, China and Singapore. “InvestPenang also participated in various international expos such as Semicon Southeast Asia, Kumamoto Industrial Revitalisation Expo, World Fujian Convention and Exhibition, World Congress on Innovation and Technology and so on. “This effort can increase Penang’s visibility to new markets,” he said in reply to a question from Gooi Hsio Leong (PH-Bukit Tengah) on the efforts made by the state government to deal with the impact of the US tariff hike at the Penang State Legislative Assembly sitting here yesterday. To improve Penang’s position in the semiconductor value chain, Chow said, the state government will maintain its commit ment to the National Semiconductor Strategy guidelines and the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative. Progress will be achieved by nurturing local champions in integrated circuit (IC) design with a total investment for the Penang Silicon Design@5km+ initiative projected at RM120 million over the next five years, he added. Chow also said the state and federal governments have established matching grants to drive the initiative forward and that the collaboration will position Malaysia, particularly Penang, as a leading player in the IC design ecosystem, driving innovation and economic growth. To attract and support more IC design players to set up and expand their operations in Penang, the state government is offering an incentive package scheme consisting of subsidies worth up to RM2 million annually for three years to both local and foreign IC design companies based in Malaysia. Chow said. However, the initiative is dependent on funding allocations from the federal government to ensure full implementation of the programme and support for the growth of the industries involved. Chow said the state government is working with the federal government to develop a trade adaptation toolkit for industry players. It will include practical resources to help them take advantage of alternative markets under regional trade agreements within Asean as well as existing agreements including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Chow explained that Penang is among the states most likely to be affected by the implementation of reciprocal tariffs as the US is the second highest country on the list of exports from Penang with a value of RM76 billion, which is 17% of the state’s total export value in 2023. “In fact, the country is also Penang’s main trading partner with a trade surplus worth RM57.7 billion in 2024. Therefore, the implementation of these tariffs may have a serious impact on Penang and other states in Malaysia,” he said. – Bernama

scale sovereign LLM deployed in Malaysia. Early adopters already onboard include the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Communications, Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd, Cyberview Sdn Bhd and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Skyvast and Leadyo also announced a roadmap to deploy 3,000 advanced GPUs across multiple infrastructure zones by 2026, supported by a growing ecosystem of Malaysian AI delivery and integration partners. Teo also witnessed the launch of the Malaysia-China Trusted Data Zone, the first bilateral corridor linking Cyberjaya, Malaysia and the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lin-gang Special Area, aimed at enabling seamless cross-border AI development through infrastructure, joint innovation platforms and digital capability integration. The Malaysia-China Trusted Data Zone is operated by Skyvast Data on the Malaysian side and Shanghai International Data Port Co Ltd on the China side, ensuring bilateral operational alignment and continuity. Asked why Malaysia was chosen for the collaboration, Leadyo Systems CEO Zhang Yifeng said Malaysia offers one of the best industrial environments in the region. That’s why companies like Leadyo Systems and even Huawei decided to select Malaysia as the first country to launch such an advanced GPU (technologies),” he said.

o First country in region to unveil platform designed for government, businesses and universities to leverage artificial intelligence in improving services, boosting productivity and driving innovation

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has officially launched the Strategic Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure, becoming the first country in the region to activate a sovereign, full-stack AI ecosystem. Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the move marks an important step in the country’s AI development, as localising large language models such as DeepSeek and hosting servers domestically would enhance AI sovereignty by ensuring data is processed locally, thus safeguarding user privacy and data security. “The special thing about this project is that the data will be stored in Malaysia, it will be managed by Malaysians, and it will be used by Malaysians as well, so this is how we can actually safeguard our AI sovereignty. “(With this) now it’s no longer like the cloud or the data centre is overseas, but it’s now purely in Malaysia – server also in Malaysia, managed by Malaysia, and the AI agents will also be developed by Malaysians. I think this is how we can localise the AI application in Malaysia,” she said. Teo was speaking at a press conference after officiating the launch of the Strategic AI KUALA LUMPUR: Six banks signed a letter of intent (LoI) yesterday with the Ministry of Economy, advancing financial facilitation to support the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), said Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli. The six banks are Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Bank Bhd, Bank of America, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and CGS International Securities. According to Rafizi, the LoI is the first decisive step in realising the economic vision of JS-SEZ. “It (the LoI) is centred on the four key pillars, the first being financing support in strategic areas. The second and third focus on promotion and stakeholder engagement, and the fourth pillar looks at research and market intelligence,” he said at the JS-SEZ Partners Dialogue: Advancing Facilitation Forum yesterday. Rafizi highlighted that the partnership with a wide array of banks spanning each corner of the globe indicates something bigger than two Asean countries coming together. “With banks being the conduits of capital, their presence is critical to galvanising private sector participation through the pooling of capital and commerce. “Having the buy-in from these anchors of the financial system is perhaps the best show of progress and belief in JS-SEZ to date,” he added. The minister also noted that the

Infrastructure: Trusted, Sovereign and Global here yesterday. Teo noted that the project marks the first deployment of Huawei’s chips and servers, along with the DeepSeek large language model, outside of China, making it a regional first. “So this is first of the kind outside China, we are very proud, meaning that in terms of AI adoption and AI application, Malaysia indeed truly will be the leader in Asean, in terms of AI application and adoption,” she said. Described as the country’s first complete national AI infrastructure, the platform is designed to empower the government, businesses and universities to leverage AI in improving services, boosting productivity and driving innovation. At the event, Teo also launched Malaysia’s first sovereign generative AI environment, powered by the AlterMatic DT250 AI Server, which features eight high-end graphics processing units (GPU). The system offers 20% higher performance and 30% energy savings compared to industry peers, and hosts the DeepSeek open-source large language model, making it the first national

Meanwhile, Skyvast Data CEO Lim Chee Siong said the Perlis Advanced Tech Park project is progressing and is expected to be ready in the next two years. – Bernama Six banks pledge financing support for Johor-S’pore SEZ

Rafizi (fourth from left), Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi (fourth from right) and representatives of the six participating banks at the LoI signing ceremony. – BERNAMAPIC

international, regional and local banks would plan and develop their own programmes on how much their allocation or commitments to facilitate the financing programme in supporting the JS-SEZ and future investors. “When we pre-select the banks, we judge them on their strategy and clientele to fit with JS-SEZ. The idea is to make sure that we have large international banks to cater to each region.

“At the moment, we leave it to the banks to decide their capital allocation or to develop their own programmes for JS-SEZ, but these banks know they have direct access to government policy and assistance that provides them the advantage when they try to convert their clients to come to JS-SEZ,” he added. In the meantime, Rafizi gave an assurance that the JS-SEZ Blueprint will be launched at the end of the year. – Bernama