KUALA LUMPUR: The recent launch of an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure initiative, involving Skyvast Corporation and Huawei Technologies, was not developed, endorsed, or coordinated by the government, says the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry.
Clarifying on the matter, the Ministry emphasised that the initiative does not form any part of any government-to-government agreement or nationally mandated technology programme.
"While the Madani Government is keen on building up its AI-powered infrastructure to enhance the public sector capacity and services, any such initiative would need to go through the appropriate level of legal, operational, and reputational processes and due diligence that are required for a project of such significance," the ministry said in a statement Wednesday (May 21).
Furthermore, the Ministry reiterated that Malaysia remains committed to full compliance with all applicable export control laws, national security directives, and emerging guidance from global regulatory authorities, "especially those that uphold the highest standards of transparency, accountability, neutrality and security, premised upon the principles of multilateralism with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core."
"Malaysia also reaffirms its sovereign right to formulate its policies in line with national interests, while facilitating transformative technologies that continue to support global research and innovation in developing advanced technologies for the good of humanity," the Ministry said.
Earlier a Bloomberg report quoted Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching as saying, in a speech Monday (May 19) that Malaysia would be the first to activate an unspecified class of Huawei's Ascend GPU-powered AI servers "at national scale".
Malaysia would deploy 3,000 units of Huawei's primary AI offering by 2026, she said in prepared remarks reviewed by Bloomberg News.
When reached for comment by Bloomberg News on Tuesday (May 20), Teo's office said it was retracting her remarks on Huawei without explanation and it is unclear whether the project will proceed as planned. A Huawei representative also told Bloomberg that the company hasn't sold Ascend chips in Malaysia and that the government hasn't bought any. Bloomberg reported that the project, first reported by local news outlet Malaysia-China Insight, caught the attention of the White House, which is working to prevent Beijing from capturing foreign AI markets.
"As I've been warning, the full Chinese stack is here," David Sacks, President Donald Trump's AI and crypto czar, wrote on X. The Trump administration was rescinding Biden-era global semiconductor curbs, which restricted chip sales to Malaysia, "just in time," he said.
This came after the US Commerce Department released - then tweaked - guidance warning overseas companies against using Huawei's Ascend. The use of those chips "anywhere in the world" could violate US export controls, the agency originally said, before removing that globally focused language during a spat with Beijing.— Bernama
