The construction of the region is in part due to the demands of its customers for additional infrastructure to support their needs. — ART CHEN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced today that it would be launching a new infrastructure region in Malaysia as part of a public-private partnership with the Malaysian government.
The announcement also came with AWS confirming that it intends to invest at least RM25.5bil in the country by 2037 through the setup of the infrastructure.
According to AWS, the construction of the infrastructure region is in part due to the demands of its customers for additional infrastructure to support their needs.
The infrastructure region is planned to have three "availability zones", which refer to geographically separated locations with redundancies to ensure its resilience.
Communications and Digital Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching welcomed AWS to Malaysia, saying, "This represents not only a significant milestone for both AWS and Malaysia, but it also affirms the nation's growing importance as a digital hub of choice in Asean.
"The impact of this development cannot be understated, the new facilities will create a multitude of opportunities for the nation and the rakyat, enabling us to further accelerate the growth of our digital economy," she said.
Rafizi Ramli, Economy Minister, said the investment would accelerate the country's march to becoming a digital-first nation.
"Data is the cornerstone of a digital-first country. Malaysia needs real-time, granular data made available in an environment conducive to experimentation and learning.
"The government is therefore committed to supporting their rapid adoption," he said.
According to International Trade and Industry Minister (MITI), Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, discussion on AWS' investment goes as far back as two years ago, during his previous tenure as Finance Minister.
"I have been informed that AWS will eventually have 80% of its workforce made up of Malaysians.
In a video presentation, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that this investment would contribute greatly to the country's future.
"AWS has committed to the largest international technology investment to date in Malaysia, which will advance our Malaysia Madani vision of a highly skilled, innovative, prosperous, and sustainable economy.
"Bringing access to world-class AWS infrastructure, advanced technologies, and Cloud skills programmes to Malaysia will unlock opportunities for local businesses of all sizes to build and expand globally, cultivate a highly skilled workforce, spur new job creation, and deliver long-term economic growth," he said.
AWS has yet to confirm the timeline for the setup of the infrastructure region.
