Lawmaker urges Johor to review data centre development guidelines

The Johor government has been urged to review the guidelines for data centre development following concerns over the impact on the environment and resource sustainability.

Jefridin Atan (BN-Kukup) said the main issues are high energy and water requirements to support data centre operations, which could strain existing utility systems.

“For example, the requested electricity capacity for data centres in Malaysia has reached almost 11,000 megawatts (MW), which is almost 40 percent of the country’s total generation capacity.

“In addition, the impact on the environment is becoming increasingly clear when deforestation occurs to make way for the development of these data centres,” Jefridin (above) said during the debate on the motion of thanks for the address by Johor Regent Tunku Mahkota Ismail at the first meeting of the Fourth Session of the Johor State Legislative Assembly in Kota Iskandar today.

He said this not only causes the loss of water catchment areas and biodiverse habitats but also increases carbon emissions and contributes to climate change.

“I am concerned that if this development is not controlled sustainably, it could leave long-term impacts on the state’s ecosystem, including the balance of land use and the well-being of local communities,” he said.

He said data centre owners should be required to reinvest in upgrading energy and water facilities in development areas.

“This investment must be permanent, not temporary. We do not want a situation where, after the government incentives expire, they leave the state with dilapidated infrastructure and severe environmental impacts.

“Therefore, I call on the state government and relevant agencies to review the guidelines for data centre development and ensure that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) is carried out transparently under strict conditions so that these investments truly provide long-term benefits to the people of Johor and our environment,” he said.

So far, Johor has been a focus location for global data centre investors, including in the Sedenak Tech Park (STeP) in Kulai, Nusajaya Tech Park, Iskandar Puteri, and Johor Bahru, with major investors including mega companies such as YTL, Microsoft, GDS, Bridge Data Centres, ByteDance, and TM One.

- Bernama

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