Data Centres in Malaysia Require US$20bil in Funding!

 

Data centres in Malaysia are estimated to require over US$20 billion (US$1=RM4.09) in funding for powered shells and equipment over the next three years. This is based on the estimated capacity addition of around two gigawatts (GW), according to S&P Global Ratings.

Powered shells and equipment include the facility shell, power and cooling infrastructure, and networking and storage equipment. S&P Global Ratings said the funding quantum runs higher when chips are included – possibly one to four times the cost of the powered shell, depending on the type of chips used. S&P Global Ratings said data centre projects in Malaysia are therefore reaching an inflection point.

Source: https://wikilabs.asia

They may be able to depend mostly on bank loans and equity but will need to explore alternative capital sources soon. S&P Global Ratings (S&P) also said Malaysia’s cost competitiveness has eroded, with power costs now slightly above average versus Southeast Asian peers. Construction costs remain average against other key data centre markets in this region. However, Malaysia’s strategic location remains its largest advantage according to S&P. 

S&P expects Malaysia to overcome the execution challenges to become one of Southeast Asia’s largest data centre hubs, nearly tripling capacity by 2030. Proximity to Singapore, strong connectivity and growing power and water capacity should keep Malaysia competitive despite rising costs and tighter approvals. 

That’s good news for banks but ultimately it will be shareholders, business model and repayment capacity of those data centres that will determine whether financing moves forward. 

Reference:

Data centres in M’sia estimated to need US$20bil funding over next 3 years, Bernama/FMT, 20 July 2026

Higher Business Costs May Slow Hiring in 2H2026

 

Higher material and operating costs could begin to weigh on hiring and slow employment growth in the second half of 2026. Apex Securities (“Apex”) said the delayed impact of elevated business costs could weaken business activity and labour demand, while the recent rise in unemployment and job-loss cases warranted close monitoring. Loss-of-employment cases rose for a second straight month to 8,100 in June from 7,766 in May, while job placements fell to 10,591 from 14,366. 

Apex said businesses had so far managed supply disruptions relatively well, while the pass-through of higher costs to consumer inflation remained manageable. Hong Leong Investment Bank Research similarly said geopolitical tensions and the energy crisis could cap labour demand, although sustained economic growth and supportive government policies should keep the job market resilient.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org 

The caution comes as Malaysia’s unemployment rate remained at 3% in May, unchanged from April. The number of unemployed people rose 0.3% month-on-month to 513,400 from 511,800, although the pace of increase slowed from 0.6% previously. The number of active jobseekers also increased to 408,000 from 407,100. Employment edged up 0.1% month-on-month to 16.82 million, supported by gains across the services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and mining sectors. 

Within the services sector, wholesale and retail trade, accommodation, food and beverage, and information and communications were among the main contributors to employment growth. 

However, employment declined 0.2% from a year earlier, marking the first year-on-year contraction since February 2021. Job vacancies also fell to 114,500 in May from 122,000 in April, according to Social Security Organisation (Socso) data. Apex nevertheless expects labour market conditions to remain broadly stable, supported by firm domestic demand, investment activity and export-oriented industries, particularly electrical and electronics. It maintained its 2026 unemployment rate forecast at 3%. HLIB also expects the labour market to remain steady despite external headwinds. 

The unemployment rate for those in the 15-24 age bracket has been high at 10.2% or approximately 300,000 youths. This is where the Government must really focus. They are new entrants into the job market. Skill sets may not be in tune with what the market wants. It is best to retrain some in new technologies and new requirements instead of them becoming Grab delivery riders! 

Reference:

Higher business costs may slow hiring in 2H2026, research houses warn, Deepalakshmi Manickam, theedgemalaysia.com, 14 July 2026

Five Bidders for Latest CCGT Plants

 

Malaysia’s latest competitive bidding exercise for combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants — the second in two years — saw five submissions at its close on July 1. [This article is based on The Edge Malaysia report (13 July 2026)] 

The Energy Commission requested for proposals with the aim of seeing new plants start operations between 2029 and 2031 as part of a repowering exercise as old plants are retired and electricity demand continues to grow strongly, driven by rising electrification and the influx of data centre projects. 

Notable players include a consortium involving YTL Power International Bhd with 750mw planned in Pulau Indah, Klang and a joint venture (JV) between Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) and Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd (700mw). 

It is understood that utility giant Tenaga Nasional Bhd has also submitted a bid for a 700mw gas plant project in Connaught Bridge, Klang. The location was home to one of the oldest power plants in the country with an 800mw-capacity plant, which has since been decommissioned. The location currently houses a smaller, 375mw power plant that will operate until 2037. 

According to a source, Genting Bhd, through its power unit, has also submitted a 1,400mw proposal in Gebeng, Pahang. 

This latest bidding round, dubbed NEWGEN26, comes on the heels of an earlier bidding exercise in 2025 (NEWGEN25) that saw a Tenaga JV with Aurora Power Generation Sdn Bhd being the sole winner of new project awards with 1,400mw capacity in Terengganu under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA). 

Under the 2025 exercise, the Energy Commission also awarded a PPA extension to three companies for their existing plants, namely Tenaga (1,262mw), Malakoff Corp Bhd (2,082mw) and Edra Power (1,375mw) to end-2029 and early 2030. PETRONAS, meanwhile, secured a 150mw additional capacity for its power plant in Pengerang, Johor. 

Peninsular Malaysia could see as much as 7,848mw of new gas power plant capacity between 2029 and 2031. In the same period, as much as 6,930mw worth of coal and gas-fired power plant capacity could retire. The bulk of the plant retirement would come from coal, comprising the nearly 1,475mw Sultan Aziz Power Station in Kapar, which is 60:40-owned by Tenaga and Malakoff (retiring in July 2029); the 2,070mw Janamanjung plant in Perak, owned by Tenaga (August 2030); and the 2,100mw Tanjung Bin power plant that is 90%-owned by Malakoff (September 2031). 

The idea is to phase out coal and replace it with gas-fired plants as baseload and reduce emissions in line with the government’s commitment to international practices. However, the influx of gas-fired power plant developments globally — to meet rising electrification demand while managing emissions — has resulted in a market squeeze for gas turbines, in some cases, requiring down payment of up to one-third of the turbine’s price. 

It is understood that YTL Power is among the few players that have secured turbines for new bids. Malakoff, which is said to be close to securing two 1,400mw power plants, previously announced it had secured four turbines from Mitsubishi Power Ltd. Tenaga, which has the NEWGEN25 1,400mw tender win in Terengganu and another 1,400mw project in the state, said a month ago that it had signed an agreement for six gas turbines, also from Mitsubishi Power, with up to 4,200mw capacity. 

However, the lead time remains tight for new projects. According to Wood Mackenzie, gas turbine manufacturing backlogs have stretched power plant lead times to as long as five years, compared to 3½ years previously. 

Attention has centred on data centres (DCs), which currently account for 7% of electricity demand in Peninsular Malaysia. This is expected to rise to 31% by 2035 on a power grid that also needs to cater to growing demand from other commercial and residential users. 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said Malaysia is restricting new DC projects that are not linked to artificial intelligence to manage water and electricity consumption. As a medium-term measure, the government has conducted two tenders for new gas-fired power plants — last year and this year — to add to generation capacity. 

However, actual DC consumption today is at a low base: it represents just 54% of approved capacity, with the remaining 948mw expected to largely come online only by 2028. That alone is equivalent to about 3% of grid-connected installed generation capacity, excluding other projects approved but not commissioned yet.

 

 

Based on the latest peak grid demand of 21,583mw on June 8 and grid-connected installed generation capacity of 28,192mw in 2025, Peninsular Malaysia has a seemingly comfortable reserve margin of 23.4%. 

But a closer look shows available generation currently stands at just under 25,000mw, narrowing the margin to around 13%. The reduction is partly due to planned outages for maintenance works, including at the 2,242mw Edra Melaka Power Plant. It is the largest thermal power plant in the country. 

Peninsular Malaysia also saw heightened electricity imports of 300mw from Thailand, mainly between September and November 2025 and throughout June this year, Grid System Operator (GSO) data shows.

Renewable energy generation, mainly from solar and hydro, is intermittent in nature and accounts for about 12% of peak demand, according to a snapshot of grid demand. On July 9. large-scale solar (LSS) supplied around 1,500mw during the day, while hydro generation exceeded 1,100mw at night. Hydro also supplied between 300mw and 600mw at other times of the day. 

In terms of grid-connected installed generation capacity, LSS and hydro represent nearly 17% of the total. LSS totalled 2,237mw as at July 2025, compared with 2,526mw of hydro generation, according to Energy Commission and GSO data. 

Another 2,400mw of solar capacity sits at the distribution network level and is therefore not counted as part of grid demand. Meanwhile, oil- and diesel-fired plants continue to supply between 360mw and 450mw. 

In the short term, the government has allowed several gas power plants to operate beyond their original commissioning periods. Will new gas plants be ready to offset the next coal power plant to be decommissioned — totalling 1,474mw — in 2029? The question is no longer whether Malaysia has enough power today, but whether new generation can come online fast enough or it has to play catch-up. Will the phasing-out of coal, which is the base load now for power generation, make it even more challenging? 

Reference:

Second gas power plant RFP in two years said to have drawn five bids, Adam Aziz / The Edge Malaysia, 20 Jul 2026

Did British Colonialism Kill 100 million Indians?

 

Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel’s research finds that Britain’s exploitative policies were associated with approximately 100 million excess deaths during the 1881-1920 period. Recent years have seen a resurgence in nostalgia for the British empire. High-profile books such as Niall Ferguson’s Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, and Bruce Gilley’s The Last Imperialist, have claimed that British colonialism brought prosperity and development to India and other colonies. Two years ago, a YouGov poll found that 32 percent of people in Britain are actively proud of the nation’s colonial history. (British schools don’t teach their children about the colonial exploits of their ancestors)

 

Source: https://ms.wikipedia.org

This rosy picture of colonialism conflicts dramatically with the historical record. According to research by the economic historian Robert C Allen, extreme poverty in India increased under British rule, from 23 percent in 1810 to more than 50 percent in the mid-20th century. Real wages declined during the British colonial period, reaching a nadir in the 19th century, while famines became more frequent and more deadly. Far from benefitting the Indian people, colonialism was a human tragedy with few parallels in recorded history. 

Experts agree that the period from 1880 to 1920 – the height of Britain’s imperial power – was particularly devastating for India. Comprehensive population censuses carried out by the colonial regime beginning in the 1880s reveal that the death rate increased considerably during this period, from 37.2 deaths per 1,000 people in the 1880s to 44.2 in the 1910s. Life expectancy declined from 26.7 years to 21.9 years. Robust data on mortality rates in India only exists from the 1880s. 

How did British rule cause this tremendous loss of life? There were several mechanisms. For one, Britain effectively destroyed India’s manufacturing sector. Prior to colonisation, India was one of the largest industrial producers in the world, exporting high-quality textiles to all corners of the globe. The tawdry cloth produced in England simply could not compete. This began to change, however, when the British East India Company assumed control of Bengal in 1757. 

According to the historian Madhusree Mukerjee, the colonial regime practically eliminated Indian tariffs, allowing British goods to flood the domestic market, but created a system of exorbitant taxes and internal duties that prevented Indians from selling cloth within their own country, let alone exporting it. This unequal trade regime crushed Indian manufacturers and effectively de-industrialised the country. As the chairman of East India and China Association boasted to the English parliament in 1840: “This company has succeeded in converting India from a manufacturing country into a country exporting raw produce.” English manufacturers gained a tremendous advantage, while India was reduced to poverty and its people were made vulnerable to hunger and disease. 

To make matters worse, British colonisers established a system of legal plunder, known to contemporaries as the “drain of wealth.” Britain taxed the Indian population and then used the revenues to buy Indian products – indigo, grain, cotton, and opium – thus obtaining these goods for free. These goods were then either consumed within Britain or re-exported abroad, with the revenues pocketed by the British state and used to finance the industrial development of Britain and its settler colonies – the United States, Canada and Australia. 

This system drained India of goods worth $45 trillion of dollars in today’s money. The British were merciless in imposing the drain, forcing India to export food even when drought or floods threatened local food security. Historians have established that tens of millions of Indians died of starvation during several considerable policy-induced famines in the late 19th century, as their resources were syphoned off to Britain and its settler colonies. 

Colonial administrators were fully aware of the consequences of their policies. They watched as millions starved and yet they did not change course. They continued to knowingly deprive people of resources necessary for survival. The extraordinary mortality crisis of the late Victorian period was no accident. The historian Mike Davis argues that Britain’s imperial policies “were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet.” 

History cannot be changed, and the crimes of the British empire cannot be erased. But reparations can help address the legacy of deprivation and inequity that colonialism produced. It is a critical step towards justice and healing. 

But Britain is in no position to do so. India prior to colonialism was having 22-23% of global GDP, like China. When the Brits left, India’s GDP was only 2% of global GDP. Today India is the 4th largest economy and will be the third largest in 2030. So much for the good of colonialism. The Brits were not the only ones who were exploitative or destructive – the French, Belgian, Dutch, German, Japanese, Mongolian, Arab, Ottoman and now the U.S. are all part of an evil scheme to steal, kill and destroy! 

Reference:

How British colonialism killed 100 million Indians in 40 years, Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel, Al Jazeera, 2 December 2022

Why Can’t We Do the Losada Quotient?

 

The Losada quotient (or Losada ratio) is a concept from positive psychology that measures the ratio of positive to negative interactions or emotions required for flourishing. It suggests that to counteract the weight of a negative interaction and foster a healthy relationship or high-performing team, you need about 3 positive interactions for every negative one (a 3:1 ratio).

 

Understanding and applying this principle can help you improve workplace dynamics, communication, and personal relationships. The concept was developed by psychologist Marcial Losada and championed by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson. Through observing corporate teams, they identified a critical tipping point. The "Flourishing" Tipping Point: A ratio of ≈ 2.9013: 1. Teams and individuals who experience at least three positive moments for every negative one tend to thrive, become more productive, and report higher well-being.

The Upper Limit: The formula also suggests that ratios exceeding ≈ 11.6:1 can signal a decline, as the environment may become unrealistically positive, stifling constructive feedback and growth.

 

Source: https://www.wikihow.com

 

To bring this concept into your daily life and workplace, you can utilize it for:

 

Feedback Delivery

For every piece of constructive criticism or negative feedback you give a team member, pair it with roughly three pieces of positive feedback or praise to keep them motivated.

 

Team Morale

Leaders can actively cultivate a supportive culture by consistently recognizing contributions, encouraging collaboration, and validating ideas.

 

Personal Relationships

A healthy marriage or friendship is often sustained by consistently sharing affirmative statements, affection, and gratitude to outweigh inevitable disagreements or frustrations.

 

While the Losada ratio became widely popular in self-help literature (like The Happiness Advantage) and management coaching, it is highly debated in the scientific community. In 2013, researchers Nicholas Brown and Alan Sokal, along with psychologist Harris Friedman, published a widely cited critique. They mathematically debunked Losada's original fluid-dynamics equations, concluding that the exact 2.9013 ratio and its applications were largely pseudoscience.

 

Today, psychologists generally agree that while there is intuitive value in ensuring that positive interactions outnumber negative ones, there is no mathematically exact "magic number" that guarantees human flourishing or team success. Having said that, we can only surmise people love compliments to complaints. So even if you must complain, could you start with a compliment and then say “but” ….

 

 

Reference:

AI Overview, 13 July 2026

Servant Leadership!

 

Leadership is often misunderstood. Most people think it’s about authority, control, and giving instructions.

But the reality is the best leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. Servant leadership is a shift in mindset. It’s not about being at the top of the hierarchy, it’s about standing behind your team and enabling them to perform at their best.

In traditional leadership, power is used to control. In servant leadership, power is used to support.

-One demands results
-The other builds people who deliver results naturally.

A leader who serves listens more, reacts less, and focuses on long-term growth instead of short-term output.

-They don’t chase credit.
-They distribute it.
-They don’t create dependency.
-They build capability.

And that’s where the real difference shows:

-Teams become more confident
-People take ownership without being told
-Performance improves without constant pressure

Because when people feel valued, they don’t just work… they contribute.

-Do people feel safe sharing ideas with you?
-Are you focused more on control or development?
-If you step away, does your team stop… or continue growing?

At the end of the day, leadership is not about how powerful you are.

It’s about how powerful the people around you become.

 

 

Reference:

Post by Gaurav Rajwanhi on LinkedIn

Government Still Bears 1MDB Debts!

 

Malaysia will have to shoulder the remaining liabilities of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) as most of the assets of the defunct state company have been recovered. A government-guaranteed Islamic medium-term note, comprising RM5 billion principal and RM3.9 billion in interest, is still outstanding on the books, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF). This is after paying off RM42.5 billion in debts and liabilities of the company as at end-June 2026. Successful asset recoveries totalling RM31.3 billion have helped offset some of the payments, reported Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong recently. However, “it is unlikely that future recoveries of funds or assets will be sufficient to cover the remaining 1MDB obligation in full,” according to Liew. 

Malaysia has initiated a slew of legal actions at home and abroad to recover RM20.1 billion related to 1MDB. Global financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank AG and Standard Chartered plc have been sued, as well as specialised corporate management Amicorp, and law firm White & Case. 

Criminal and civil proceedings against individuals, including Jho Low and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor — the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, have also been instituted in connection to the scandal. However, there is no certainty of success. 

Failure would mean the government will have to step in to pay RM20.1 billion for the remaining obligations. Who bears the burden? It is the people of Malaysia. We can’t be voting in the same party who created this mess and maybe others as well. Don’t we want a clean responsible government? Or we prefer kleptocrats to rule again? Soon, we will face GE16. Be wise! 

Reference: 

Govt still bears 1MDB debts, legal action failures would mean more liabilities — MOF, Izzul Ikran, theedgemalaysia.com, 10 July 2026