PETALING JAYA: The government is drafting a Digital Infrastructure (Data Centre) Bill and will submit it to the Cabinet next year.
Economy minister Akmal Nasir said this will help regulate the growth of the data centre industry, in line with the country's energy and water supply capacity.
Bernama reported him as saying that the bill aimed to ensure investments in the industry add value to the domestic economy, address utility constraints and avoid imbalances in environmental impact.
He said the proposal to draft the bill was part of a strategic regulatory plan agreed upon by the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today.
He said the agreement was reached following the presentation of the “National strategic direction towards sustainable data centre development” by the digital ministry.
Akmal said MTEN also agreed that four lead ministries – the housing and local government ministry, the investment, trade and industry ministry, the science, technology and innovation ministry, and the human resources ministry – would adopt the circular economy framework presented by the economy ministry.
He said the framework aims to lead the country's transition from a linear economic model, based on the "use-and-dispose" concept, to a circular economy that optimises the lifespan of materials, reduces waste and preserves the value of resources.
“This integrated policy was formulated to address the issue of fragmented implementation across ministries in the past, to avoid economic losses caused by the wastage of valuable resources and to support the net zero aspiration by 2050,” he said.
Akmal said the meeting also reviewed the national economic resilience framework presented by the Prime Minister’s Office’s economic affairs division as a comprehensive long-term measure to address external economic shocks.
"The meeting agreed that the framework should be presented to the Cabinet and further discussed at a meeting of the ministries’ secretaries-general and heads of service, chaired by the chief secretary to the government," he said.
Akmal said the economy ministry, as the MTEN secretariat, will coordinate and monitor follow-up actions with the relevant ministries and implementing agencies.