KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia must set up a sovereign cloud to safeguard security and personal data, yet remain open to global digital investments as Southeast Asia becomes increasingly dependent on critical digital technologies and infrastructure.
Responding to a question on how Malaysia and Southeast Asian countries could exercise agency in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape, he said the sovereign cloud would enable Malaysia to protect sensitive information while continuing to embrace openness in a globalised world.
“The Cloud Act has created some issues because President (Donald) Trump has said that companies established in the United States have the right to penetrate and get all the data from countries where they invest.
“Fair, it is their decision, nothing can be done, but for us to protect our interests, then we must establish, for critical security and personal data, a sovereign cloud,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the 39th Asia-Pacific Roundtable here today.
Anwar said the sovereign cloud would have firewalls to protect critical security and personal information while acknowledging there were limits to such protection in an increasingly globalised world.
“That, to my mind, is the ingenious way to protect our people and our interests. At the same time, we must accept the fact that, in a globalised world, there are limits to such protection because, as a free, democratic country, we have some open access,” he added.
He said while openness and the free exchange of information are important, they also bring about challenges from social media and digital platform abuse.
Anwar said such abuses could take political, economic, personal or sexual forms, and stressed the need for the government to establish legitimate safeguards to protect Malaysians, particularly youth, from such exposure.
He added that Malaysia remains attractive to investors from the US, China and Germany, adding that ASEAN centrality is critical not only in foreign policy but also in ensuring the country stays attractive to investors and is a friend to all.
On Malaysia’s role as a middle power, Anwar said Malaysia’s strength as a small nation lies not only in its own potential but also in ASEAN’s collective strength.
“I do not portray us as a great power. We are a small country. That is why we engage very closely with our neighbours. Our strength lies not only in Malaysia’s potential, but also in ASEAN’s potential,” he said.
Anwar added that Malaysia would continue to engage with friendly countries and stressed that small nations should grow together as a region rather than seek middle-power status individually.
