PETALING JAYA: Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo says more proactive measures are needed to address public concerns over data centres as Malaysia prepares for wider adoption of AI technologies.
“Let’s be realistic because people do ask questions about whether there is sufficient energy, water and of course, when you build these structures, concerns about noise pollution,” he said during the launch of the NextDC KL1 Kuala Lumpur data centre in Seksyen 51a in PJ today (May 14).
Gobind said such conversations surrounding the development of data centres in Malaysia must be acknowledged.
“I would ask the industry to try and also manage these conversations. I think it’s good if the industry can also explain to people in the area about what is really happening and acknowledge these concerns,” Gobind added.
NextDC chief executive officer and managing director Craig Scroggie said sustainability is not an overlay and that it is integrated into how they design, build, and operate their infrastructure.
The company's group chief development officer Simon Cooper also mentioned that the company is prepared to receive feedback from residents who may have concerns, such as noise pollution during night time.
“If people around here believe that it is too noisy, they have the right to write a letter to the council and the council will write to us and we have to measure things (noise level). So if something has changed, then we have to fix it,” he said.
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said more efforts will be made to explain how data centres operate to the public.
“Normally when they think about data centres, they think this is a house that eats too much energy or water,” he said, adding that the state government also has measures in place to ensure data centres operators adhere to sustainability standards.
