Malaysia's resource anxiety tests Asia's fastest data centre build-out

Workers laying cables outside Bridge Data Centres in Johor state, which has become Southeast Asia's fastest-growing data centre hub, at Sedenak, Malaysia, on May 6. (Photo: Reuters)

HONG KONG/JOHOR, Malaysia - After leapfrogging Singapore to become the region's fastest-growing data centre hub, Malaysia is facing intensifying scrutiny as the resources ​debate that has complicated the industry's growth spreads to emerging Asia.

Protests over a data centre complex ‌in Johor state's southern tip — the epicentre of the boom — were the first of their kind in the country. In Selangor, the richest and most populous state, debate about the burden on communities has become politicised.