Mida chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
KUALA LUMPUR: Realised investments should be assessed by the outcomes of their execution, including whether they create the right spillover effects that improve income levels and generate jobs, says Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
“We need to be agile as well. When it comes to execution, it is no longer just about investment, but realised investment. To me, it goes even beyond realised investment. Just like the economy, it is no longer just about execution – it has to be about the outcome of execution.
“Similarly, for realised investments, when you approve and realise it, one must ask: Are we creating the right spillover?” he said during a media appreciation event and networking session themed “Strengthening Partnerships for Investment Success” yesterday.
Tengku Zafrul said it is a misconception to think that data centres do not create jobs.
He said, while data centres may not generate large numbers of jobs directly, the spillover effects – including construction activity, higher local content participation and the development of a broader technology ecosystem – are where the employment and economic benefits materialise.
“We have been pushing for more local content in data centres and content produced by Malaysian companies or companies based in Malaysia. In fact, there are commitments from some data centres for up to 40%, and in some cases even up to 70%, of the content being local.
“If you look at Singapore, for example, they started developing data centres way before us. Look at how many companies that have been built there because of data centres,” he said.
Meanwhile, economist Anthony Dass said this year would be a selective period, with investments being more carefully chosen as the world was approaching the tail end of the fifth global business cycle.
“Each cycle lasts about 30 to 40 years. The fifth cycle has another five years, or a maximum of 10 years, to go. We are waiting for the sixth cycle.
Global investments have not collapsed, even with the various macroeconomic volatilities like the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
“In fact, if you look at global capital in terms of foreign direct investment flows per year, they are moving around US$1.4 trillion to US$1.6 trillion. Hence, capital is not scarce but the levels of investor tolerance have changed, with deployment now more selective and execution-led,” Anthony said.
He added that as capital is being repositioned, investors are more focused on execution rather than expansion.
As a result, he said investors are becoming more selective, choosing investment locations where execution is more effective.
“At the same time, incentives really matter even though they are not an end in themselves. What plays an important role, besides incentives, are a country’s efficiency, talent readiness, and ability to deliver with certainty.
“In the first nine months of last year, total approved investments reached around RM285.2bil, and domestic investment actually contributed about 55%. This is not a coincidence. It is a structural signal.
“The question is no longer whether foreign capital will come automatically, but whether local firms are positioned to co-invest, scale, and anchor supply chains. Countries that mobilise domestic capital credibly are perceived as less risky and more execution-ready,” he said.
