Equinix Malaysia MD Cheam Tat Inn Joins 3rd Tech Tarik Think Tank Session, Adds His Views on Data Centre Growth in Malaysia

The esteemed Tech Tarik Think Tank Group met in KL at Banglo 289 on Raja Chulan for a wide-ranging, sometimes challenging, and always enlightening talk about the growth of data centres in Malaysia.

The group was fortunate to have a special guest, Cheam Tat Inn, the Managing Director of Equinix Malaysia, join the discussion. Notwithstanding Cheam’s long history in the IT industry, his current tenure at one of the world’s largest data centre companies made him an eminently qualified guest at this session.

Malaysia’s Transformation into a Data Centre Hub

Cheam got the dialogue going by explaining how, if you look at the plain facts, Malaysia is genuinely becoming a regional hub for data centre investment.  He pointed out how at the current time, Malaysia’s data centre capacity is 7th or 8th across APAC, but if all the current planned investment comes to fruition, Malaysia will be as high as number 4 within another 18 months.

At the moment, 54 operational data centres are expected in Malaysia by the end of 2025 with 800 mw of capacity. This is expected to reach 2,000 mw capacity by the end of 2027.

When asked about why Malaysia is becoming such a hub, Cheam explained that Malaysia offers a unique trifecta of features that make it incredibly well disposed to housing data centres.

These features are:

1. Favourable government investment policies and MyDIGITAL and NIMP 2030 initiatives to drive digital transformation.
2. Abundance of affordable land and low power and water tariffs. In the case of Johor, in particular, its proximity to Singapore allows low latency connection into one of the world’s most developed digital ecosystems.
3. Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Centre, and Semiconductor ecosystems. Collectively, they form a major driver for the digital economy.

Malaysia: Powered Up for the Data Centre Boom

In addition, the group also noted how Malaysia has a robust power grid with plenty of capacity to support the energy requirements of increased data centre growth. This inexorably led to this critical question: “What about energy efficiency and green initiatives—isn’t all this data centre capacity just too energy hungry?”

On this question, Cheam was clear. According to him, organisations will continue to invest and run mission critical applications to support their business even when the infrastructure that runs these applications consumes energy. They are going to do it anyway; it’s just a question of whether they run these applications on their own premises or collocate in new modern data centres. His point being that the modern purpose-built data centres like Equinix likely means that running these modern AI-powered apps under their roof will be done so more energy efficiently than if they try to run them on their own premises.

Strategising for Malaysia’s Changing Data Cenre Landscape

At the conclusion of the dialogue, Cheam explained that he had found the session very valuable and having such open feedback from the Tech Tarik Think Tank members had given him an expanded perspective as he formulates his plans for Equinix in Malaysia.

Cheam added that he is also looking forward to the discussion paper that will come from this session, which he believes will be a valuable resource for anyone currently developing a data centre strategy for their business.

As Malaysia continues its rapid ascent as a regional data centre powerhouse, sessions like the Tech Tarik Think Tank serve as vital platforms for industry leaders to exchange insights, challenge assumptions, and shape the digital future. Cheam’s contribution to the dialogue not only underscored the strategic importance of Malaysia in the global data centre landscape but also highlighted the role of collaboration in navigating the complexities of sustainable growth.

With a clear vision, supportive policies, and a thriving ecosystem, Malaysia is well on its way to becoming a digital infrastructure leader—and conversations like these are helping to pave the way.