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I'm a Chinese Malaysian, and I feel the need to highlight the other side of the coin—the risks multinational corporations (MNCs) face when setting up data cente
by nsoonhui 2y ago
I'm a Chinese Malaysian, and I feel the need to highlight the other side of the coin—the risks multinational corporations (MNCs) face when setting up data centers in Malaysia.
Despite being elected on the promise of reform, the government's actual performance has been anything but. The press is still frequently suppressed; social media platforms are required to obtain a yearly license or risk being fined or shut down. There was even a time when the MCMC—the country’s communications regulatory body—forced all ISPs to route traffic through their DNS instead of allowing users to freely use Google or Cloudflare DNS, enabling government censorship.
On that last point, the MCMC backed down after massive public outcry, but the government's authoritarian tendencies remain palpable.
Speaking of authoritarianism, the current Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has proudly likened himself to Southeast Asia’s version of Erdogan. And indeed, he seems to be increasingly authoritarian just like Erdogan, curbing free speech while advancing an Islamist agenda. Under his leadership, the country is becoming increasingly intolerant, particularly as the majority Malay Muslims frequently target minorities—sometimes on a near-weekly basis. You might be surprised to learn that socks printed with the word "Allah" resulted in the store owner being charged and penalized in court. Meanwhile, ongoing debates about banning convenience stores from selling liquor in Muslim-majority areas never seem to die down. Non-Muslims remain uncertain about when they might inadvertently face repercussions for perceived "mistakes"—whether intentional or not.
Additionally, Anwar's staunch support for Hamas may not sit well with the current U.S. administration. Whether this will lead to investors pulling out, or somehow trigger the US sanction, remains to be seen.
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y agoSounds what Malaysia needs is Big Co. & Friends to move in, data centres and all, and run the government from the shadows, much like they do in every successful democracy.
- charlie0 2y agoAnd some of the unsuccessful ones.
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y agoIt’s a bit hit and miss.
- anon291 2y agoAll of afro-Eurasia seems to be falling into religious intolerance and extremism, except for a few outposts.
- frontfor 2y agoThis is an ignorant statement to make. Most of East & Southeast Asia aren't religious extremists. Malaysia and Indonesia are exceptions rather than the rule. It's clear you're making statements about a large swarth of the region you have no clue about.
- anon291 2y agoIndonesia regularly passes laws barring religious minorities from practicing. For example: https://www.msn.com/en-us/society-culture-and-history/social-issues/opposition-arises-against-church-in-indonesia/ar-AA1znC9W https://www.msn.com/en-us/society-culture-and-history/social... (there are dozens of such stories) China of course highly regulates religion and is in no way 'free' in that regard. Phillipines has an Islamic insurgency. Malaysia... okay? One country? It's really not looking good for most of the continent at the rate it's going.
- chabska 2y ago> the MCMC backed down after massive public outcry, but the government's authoritarian tendencies remain palpable. That contradicts your thesis. They did listen to feedback from the people, that's democracy.
- nsoonhui 2y agoThat such a ridiculous idea even being proposed is already a huge indication of authoritarianism, not to mention that MCMC could resurrect the idea at any time.
- weddpros 2y ago[flagged]
- firen777 2y agoIn the future these kind of "whatabout" comments should be auto-flagged due to how unproductive they are.
- HexDecOctBin 2y agoAre they unproductive? How many people are saying that UK and Europe shouldn't build data centers? Is irrationality not to be called out, simply because it's hurts some pre-existing notions of societal, civilisation, or perhaps racial superiority?
- weddpros 2y ago"reading the comments gave me a headache..." you, 45 days ago
- frontfor 2y agoThis is simplistic. China famously ended the COVID lockdown after protests broke out. Would you call that a democracy?
- joeblubaugh 2y agoI don’t think the rising Islamist tendencies would be any different if Umno was still running things - from my perspective most of these trends slowed down under recent government but they continue to trend in a worrying direction.
- nerdralph 2y agoWhen I traveled to KL in 2019 I was impressed with how open and tolerant it was. My wife and I were asked no questions upon entry. Our passports were stamped and we were told "Welcome to Malaysia". We went during Eid, and were very comfortable despite being western atheists.
- csomar 2y agoThe Parent is a Chinese-Malay and they do have grievances but his answer is probably biased. Malaysia is far from perfect but it is not Afghanistan. It is one of the best Muslim countries.
- 2-3-7-43-1807 2y agoI'd argue Germany is the better Muslim country.
- fennecfoxy 2y agoOpen & tolerant? As a gay man you just made me laugh & cry. Hell, even fairly recently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rkx271xe6o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rkx271xe6o a kiss between 2 men on stage got the band banned from the country. Now, before you completely disregard the point I'm making; yes, they did ignore the laws/warnings they were given but your point is that Malaysia is tolerant and my point is that Malaysia is not tolerant at all. We should call out intolerance when we see it; saying homophobia is a part of their "culture" is not good enough.
- krageon 2y agoIgnoring an explicit law and then getting punished (and not even all that badly) is not at all germane to the subject, which is insecurity about rules that may start existing soon or are undocumented. If you go to a muslim country and make out with another dude you're making a statement, which is fine. You know what the consequences will be before you do it. Your described scenario is no different from saying using white phosphorus on civilians is bad on stage in the US, which will also land you in incredible trouble.
- mmooss 2y agoI wonder if those building data centers (I don't know about those building in Malaysia) see authoritarianism as a downside; many of them support such things. Also, I'm surprised that people describe these events as particular occurances. It's a pattern followed all over the world now, including in the US. Who stands up now for freedom, democracy, and the necessary component of those things, toleration?
- tonyhart7 2y ago"The press is still frequently suppressed" and "forced all ISPs to route traffic through their DNS instead of allowing users to freely use Google or Cloudflare DNS" how can international investor investing in data center where their data is supressed and censor??
- nsoonhui 2y agoAh, now you see the irony. That's the kind of irony we Malaysians have to live with.