In a bold vision for the future, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has announced plans for Malaysia to develop its own chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) within the next five to ten years.
Rafizi emphasised the nation’s potential to leverage its downstream sector, moving beyond just the back-end of semiconductor manufacturing, according to Bernama.
Rafizi highlighted the economic benefits of this initiative, stating, “not only (do) we create a new high-value economic sector that serves our demand, but we can then become a global player because other countries will require data centres as well.”
This long-term view aligns with the government’s strategy to enhance the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres in the national economy.
The minister also expressed optimism about Malaysia’s prospects as a global data centre powerhouse, supported by renewable energy (RE).
He revealed that the country is finalising the fifth large-scale solar (LSS5) bidding round, with LSS6 expected to follow. “We should be able to allow renewable energy capacities to be scaled up much faster than what we have ever seen in the past,” Rafizi added.
Malaysia is recognised as the sixth largest exporter of semiconductors, commanding 13% of the global market for semiconductor packaging, assembly and testing.