Starting this month (June 2024), the Malaysian Government will allow all vessels conducting repairs on undersea cables to carry out work in its waters, after it had announced earlier this year that it would reinstate the permissions it had suspended in 2020.
This development means that all cable-laying ships engaged in the installation, maintenance and repair of undersea cables in Malaysian waters will be exempted from the country's cabotage policy, said a statement from the Transport Ministry late last month.
It certainly is a positive a positive development for Malaysia’s growing investments in digital infrastructure, more so since the country has now emerged as a key destination for digital technology investments in Asia. Nvidia, Google and Amazon Web Services are among tech giants which had this year pledged multiple billions of dollars in digital investments.
The cabotage exemption now increases Malaysia’s attraction to other international technology giants. This stems from the reality that submarine cables are critical infrastructure for the growth and adoption of a digital economy as terabytes of data flow through these cables every millisecond, allowing data to be transported across the world.
Against this development, there is an unsung hero who had worked tirelessly in recent years to reinstate the cabotage exemption for foreign cable repair vessels.
The unsung hero here is Malaysia Internet Exchange (MyIX), spearheaded by its Chairman Chiew Kok Hin.
MyIX and industry leaders had repeatedly called for the cabotage exemption to be reinstated ever since it was suspended in 2020.
Chairman Chiew had constantly highlighted to government officials, industry players and media that Malaysia has significant strengths in internet infrastructure due to its strategic geographical location, ease of access and relatively lower cost of entry.
He also emphasised that government policies should always be investor-friendly to continually attract foreign investors into Malaysia, citing strategic wins from both local and international providers at that time, including foreign players with data centres operating in Malaysia such as Alibaba, Hitachi, NTT, Microsoft, IBM, and Bridge Data Centres.
“For Malaysia to attract more submarine cable investments, this cabotage issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible, and specifically the cabotage exemption for foreign vessels to conduct undersea cable repairs to be reinstated soonest possible,” he stated back in 2021.
Now that the cabotage exemption for foreign cable repair vessels has been reinstated, Malaysia is well-positioned to enhance its digital infrastructure and continue attracting significant investments from international technology giants.
This move indeed supports the country's fast growing digital economy while solidifying Malaysia’s reputation as a key destination for digital technology investments in Asia.
For this development, Malaysia owes its gratitude to MyIX, its Chairman and Committee Members for their tireless efforts and dedication towards reinstating the cabotage exemption for foreign cable repair vessels.
This article was first published by Business Today and provided by AL Consulting
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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