No written definition exists. Malaysia stopped accepting new non-AI data-centre applications on 24 February 2026 (Malay Mail), but no written definition of an “AI data centre” had been published as of 10 November 2026. Whether a project counts as AI is decided when it applies.
The official counts measure different things: 84 data-centre projects approved nationally to July 2026, 27 of them through the Data Centre Task Force (Ministry of Digital via Bernama, 14 Oct 2026), and 36 data centres actually powered by TNB in the first quarter of 2026 (energy ministry via Malay Mail). None of them says how many are AI data centres.
- 24 Feb 2026
- New non-AI applications stopped (Malay Mail)
- 0
- Written definitions of an AI data centre published, as of 10 Nov 2026
- 84
- Projects approved nationally to Jul 2026 (Bernama)
- 36
- Data centres powered by TNB, Q1 2026 (Malay Mail)
What counts as an AI data centre under Malaysia’s freeze on new non-AI data centres?
Nothing written does. The government stopped new non-AI data-centre applications on 24 February 2026 (Malay Mail), and no written definition, threshold or test for an AI data centre had been published as of 10 November 2026. Applicants describe the AI workload in their application, and the project is classed when it is assessed. Any list of criteria that claims to be the official definition is not from a published source.
How many data-centre applications has Malaysia stopped or rejected?
No official total of stopped or rejected applications has been published. The Data Centre Task Force received more than 40 data-centre applications in 2026 (The Star, 15 Sep 2026). How many of those were refused, or refused because they were not AI, has not been stated.
Does Malaysia have AI data centres, and how many?
Malaysia has data centres built for AI workloads, but no official count of AI data centres exists, because there is no definition to count against. Of the 27 projects approved through the Data Centre Task Force, 1 was operating and 26 were under construction (Ministry of Digital via Bernama, 14 Oct 2026); the reply does not say which are AI.
How many data centres does Malaysia have?
It depends on what is counted. The best official figure for operating, grid-connected data centres is 36, powered by TNB in the first quarter of 2026 (Malay Mail, 7 Jul 2026). The other numbers in circulation count approvals, investment projects or commercial listings:
| Figure | What it counts | Source and date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | Data-centre projects approved nationwide, to Jul 2026 | Ministry of Digital, written reply (Bernama, 14 Oct 2026) | Official |
| 27 | Of the 84, approved through the Data Centre Task Force: 16 in Johor, 10 in Selangor, 1 in Negeri Sembilan; 1 operating, 26 under construction | Same reply (Bernama) | Official |
| 36 | Data centres TNB was powering (operating), Q1 2026, plus 23 under construction | Energy ministry, written reply (Malay Mail, 7 Jul 2026) | Official |
| 143 | Data-centre and cloud investment projects approved 2021 to Jun 2025, including expansions. Investment approvals, not buildings | MITI, parliamentary answer (BusinessToday, Nov 2025) | Official, different scope |
| More than 40 | Applications received in 2026 | MITI (The Star, 15 Sep 2026) | Official |
| 61 existing, 79 upcoming | Commercial colocation facilities | Arizton (updated Nov 2026) | Commercial tracker |
| 135 | Listed facilities, including small and enterprise sites | Data Center Map (undated) | Commercial tracker |
| 108 | “Data-centre sites”, 50 of them in Selangor | Bernama Garasi (Aug 2025) | Media count |
| 59 | No primary or tracker source found | None | Do not use |
Read 84 as approved projects, 36 as operating data centres, and 143 as investment approvals. The commercial counts each use their own scope.
What are the biggest data centres in Malaysia?
No official ranking of Malaysian data centres by capacity has been published, and announced campus plans are not built capacity. The state pages list each project’s announced megawatts with its source and status: start with Johor, which has about half of Peninsular data-centre demand.
How could AI use be verified?
A utility meter cannot tell AI work from storage, cloud hosting or mining; only measurement at the workload can. Our open method defines an AI workload share: the share of a facility’s IT energy used by AI training and inference, built from counters the accelerators already report and from request metadata, without reading prompts or customer data. A government could then set the share at which a facility counts as an AI data centre; the method only measures. Read the method: Measuring AI Work in Malaysian Data Centres.
What is not public
We could not confirm these from a published source as of 10 November 2026. Do not assume them:
- A written definition of an AI data centre
- The number of applications refused under the freeze
- Which approved projects are AI data centres
- An official ranking by capacity
Croutons Research publishes open data and methods on AI data centres in Malaysia. See the open method for measuring AI work per megawatt.
Sources
- Malay Mail, new non-AI data centres frozen (24 Feb 2026)
- Bernama, Ministry of Digital reply on approved projects (14 Oct 2026)
- Malay Mail, TNB powering 36 data centres (7 Jul 2026)
- BusinessToday, 143 data-centre projects since 2021 (Nov 2025)
- The Star, over 40 data-centre applications in 2026 (15 Sep 2026)
- Arizton, Malaysia data center portfolio
- Data Center Map, Malaysia
- Bernama Garasi, can Selangor handle the data-centre boom (Aug 2025)
Last checked 10 November 2026