Malaysia monitoring developments in US for potential changes in policies: Rafizi

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s government is monitoring developments in the United States for potential changes in policies as a new administration prepares to take office in Washington, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said that given the influence the US has on the global economy, any country in the world would conduct some level of due diligence on the impacts a change in the US administration might bring.

“That is part and parcel of planning. While we await the next few announcements, we will observe how the Trump administration will impact the global economy and ours,” he told reporters after the Sesi Libat Urus Industri Rancangan Malaysia Ke-13 today.

Rafizi said Malaysia must be nimble and agile to react and respond to any geopolitical and international developments that may arise from a change in administration, not only in the US but in any of its large trading partners. “And the US is a very large trading partner for us,” he pointed out.

However, Rafizi noted that many of Malaysia’s plans concerning semiconductors and energy transition are driven by domestic needs and are largely structural. “That means it’s something we have to go through to prepare our industry and economy to be more robust. So in that sense, I think all the key reforms that need to be done still have to be done.”

Additionally, he said, Malaysia’s 13th Malaysia Plan will include initiatives to position the country as a global provider of a comprehensive artificial intelligence-driven data centre ecosystem. “The government’s focus has always been to tap into the opportunities presented by the data centre boom.”

Rafizi emphasised that Malaysia aims to avoid simply attracting data centre without integrating into the data centre value chain and supply chain. “We have been working on a few catalytic interventions to create the ecosystem.”

Rafizi said that by the end of this decade, Malaysia aims to participate in the entire data centre value chain, first benefiting from existing and future data centers in the country. “But more importantly, for us to begin exporting our own data centers around the world.”

For the 13th Malaysia Plan that is being prepared, Rafizi said, the Ministry of Economy is not only holding engagement sessions with state governments but also ensuring that it includes input from key strategic industries.

The sessions focus on the electronics, aerospace and automotive industries, and the process will continue to align government and industry planning. “The main goal is to transition our industries from assembly-based to innovation and creation-based industries,” Rafizi said.