Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's X
KUALA LUMPUR, November 4, 2026 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has welcomed Google’s plan to invest US$15 billion (about RM61 billion) in Malaysia from 2027 to 2028, saying the commitment confirms the country’s stability, talent and ambition to become a leading digital powerhouse in Southeast Asia.
In a post shared on X on Wednesday evening, Anwar said he delivered the keynote address at Mantap Malaysia Bersama AI, a programme organised by Google at Universiti Malaya, which saw the announcement of the technology giant’s new investment for the two-year period. He added that the strategic investment is expected to contribute an average of US$1.1 billion a year to the economy.
The investment was announced by Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, in the presence of the Prime Minister. According to Google’s announcement, the plan covers energy-efficient data centre campuses in industrial zones, building on its first Malaysian campus at Elmina Business Park in Selangor, which is now operational, and new planned campuses in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
Google said the construction phase is expected to add an average of US$1.1 billion a year to Malaysia’s gross domestic product and support more than 37,000 local jobs a year, around 6,000 of them in construction, generating an average of US$378 million in labour income annually. Once operational, the facilities are projected to sustain more than 9,000 local jobs a year, with wages averaging 45 per cent above the national median.
The company also plans to add more than one gigawatt of clean energy capacity to the National Grid and to fund four new programmes to upskill around 800,000 Malaysians by 2031. The programmes will advance AI literacy in classrooms, help local businesses reach more customers online, equip local government officials with AI skills and productivity tools, and prepare job seekers for on-site roles at data centres, Free Malaysia Today reported.
In his keynote, Anwar said foreign direct investment was indispensable to Malaysia’s economic dynamism, but under the MADANI Economy framework and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 it must also strengthen local industries, develop human capital across society and ensure ethical stewardship of energy and natural resources. He noted that Google had partnered with more than 80 Malaysian entities in civil engineering, power systems, network infrastructure and logistics, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
“We do not want an AI divide to emerge, where only a small group of elites in boardrooms or laboratories benefit, while the rest are merely spectators,” Anwar said, adding that the upskilling drive should also reach rural communities, low-income groups, the Orang Asli community, civil servants and small traders.
On water, the Prime Minister said Google had committed to returning more freshwater to watersheds than its operations consume, and plans to build an off-river storage reservoir and a treatment plant designed to deliver 65 million litres of potable water a day. Upon completion, ownership will be handed over to the state government as a public asset.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Anwar said Google had accepted the environmental conditions set by the government for the investment, The Sun reported. The company will bear the full cost of its electricity consumption and direct grid connections, and will work with Tenaga Nasional Berhad to add clean energy capacity without relying on public subsidies, Malay Mail reported. Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil also attended the event.
Credit : Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s X
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