Malaysia has always been doing the grunt work of the giants.
See also how does Geely control Proton.
Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
81–90 of 113 posts
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#82Malaysia has always been doing the grunt work of the giants. See also how does Geely control Proton.
You know Huei?
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#83I'm a Chinese Malaysian, and I feel the need to highlight the other side of the coin—the risks multinational corporations (MNCs) face when setting up data centers in Malaysia. Despite being elected on the promise of reform, the government's actual performance has been anything but. The press is still frequently suppressed; social media platforms are required to obtain a yearly license or risk being fined or shut down…
I wonder if those building data centers (I don't know about those building in Malaysia) see authoritarianism as a downside; many of them support such things.
Also, I'm surprised that people describe these events as particular occurances. It's a pattern followed all over the world now, including in the US. Who stands up now for freedom, democracy, and the necessary component of those things, toleration?
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#84If Malaysia wanted to play hardball, they could wait until the data centers are built and running, and then raise electricity prices and taxes.
If the government is authoritarian, they could be bribed. Remember the US government now says bribery is ok.
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#85Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#86It's the 21C version of the European grab for Africa's natural resources.
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#87I'm a Chinese Malaysian, and I feel the need to highlight the other side of the coin—the risks multinational corporations (MNCs) face when setting up data centers in Malaysia. Despite being elected on the promise of reform, the government's actual performance has been anything but. The press is still frequently suppressed; social media platforms are required to obtain a yearly license or risk being fined or shut down…
When I traveled to KL in 2019 I was impressed with how open and tolerant it was. My wife and I were asked no questions upon entry. Our passports were stamped and we were told "Welcome to Malaysia". We went during Eid, and were very comfortable despite being western atheists.
The Parent is a Chinese-Malay and they do have grievances but his answer is probably biased. Malaysia is far from perfect but it is not Afghanistan. It is one of the best Muslim countries.
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#88I was just on a call with a company in Japan yesterday talking about deploying datacenters in KL. News verified I guess... Malaysia isn't that cheap for SEA btw. Thailand and Indonesia are probably cheaper. They've got a wildly unique system of rotating kings if you've never looked into it. Also this could be like a 50 episode series https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Malaysia_Development_Berhad...
Malaysia has cheaper energy and a more open financial system than Indonesia and Thailand. Humans are a bit more expensive but that's not your biggest cost in a data center.
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#89I guess the thesis is that Singapore is the primary business hub in SEA, but Singapore doesn't have a grid that can handle large scale data centers (especially with power hungry GPU demand). Logically Johor bordering Singapore is the next best option for data centers.
There was once a proposal to run an extension cord from Australia to Singapore [1] since Australia could have plentiful and cheap solar power. However, the project collapsed after the capricious billionaire backers ditched it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia-Asia_Power_Link
Why bother going all the way to Singapore when their neighbor (Java) has 100 million people?
Re: Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
The SunCable project is still moving forward. There was a disagreement between the co-founders. One wanted to use HVDC cable to transmit power, the other wanted to use electrolysis to produce Hydrogen, put that on ships, then burn it in Singapore to produce electricity. To resolve the dispute, they both agreed to put the project into administration, then both made bids to take full control, with HVDC proponent Mike C…
Twiggy was also talking about producing hydrogen in Tasmania from largely unavailable hydropower, or so the argument goes. If I recall correctly then turn that in to green ammonia. Many of those dams are full to excess, at least sometimes. And what Twiggy doesn’t waste turning falling water in to energy anaemic hydrogen gas, ammonia is handy though, we can keep selling to Victoria for a profit, for the Tasmanian gove…
> for the Tasmanian government to, what, waste on a footy stadium no one wants?
It’s a Utopia: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3XUn-EsThcE
(That video was uploaded a year ago but the episode the clip is from aired years before the new stadium was even proposed. And that’s not the only time that the TV show predicted a useless government project)