Dewan Rakyat
The lower house of Malaysia's Parliament.
Members of the Dewan Rakyat heard on 15 October 2026 that Malaysian data-centre operators will be billed for every megawatt they book, drawn or idle, while 60 pending projects want 11,172 MW.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
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Malaysia's tougher data-centre terms were announced on the floor of the Dewan Rakyat. Answering Rodziah Ismail, the member for Ampang, in an oral reply on 15 October 2026, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said a booked megawatt is now a billed megawatt, whether drawn or idle. Operators also face a market electricity tariff of their own, fund upgrades to the grid run by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), The National utility, recycle their water and buy at least 3% of their services locally.
The minister also set out the scale of demand: 57 operating data centres draw 6,237 MW from TNB, and 60 more at approval or construction stage seek 11,172 MW. He valued the sector's economic contribution at RM14.1bn in 2026, against RM900m in 2021. A month earlier the Energy Commission had reported data centres taking 9.3% of Malaysia's electricity during one week in August.
The Dewan Rakyat is the elected chamber of Malaysia's two-house Parliament, with 222 seats, a maximum five-year term and sittings at the Houses of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur. The Dewan Negara forms the upper house.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.