Malaysia’s rapid growth as a hub for data centre development drew its first organised public protest on Saturday, as residents near a construction site in Johor raised concerns about environmental impacts and community well-being. More than 50 people gathered outside a facility being built by China’s Zdata Technologies Co., urging authorities to address dust pollution and potential effects on local water supplies.
Protesters, who represent nearly 1000 residents across four housing estates in Gelang Patah, dispersed after about 90 minutes under police supervision when developers did not engage with them.
Data Centre Boom Collides With Community Concerns
Malaysia has become one of Southeast Asia’s leading data centre destinations, attracting global tech companies including Oracle, Amazon, Alibaba and ByteDance as demand for AI-driven digital services climbs. Investors have been drawn by the country’s competitive costs, stable infrastructure and proximity to regional business hubs such as Singapore. Johor in particular has become a focal point for data centre investment, with approvals totalling RM164.45 billion by mid-2025, making it one of the fastest-growing data centre jurisdictions in the region.
The facility at the centre of the protest lies unusually close to residential properties, unlike most data centres in Malaysia that are sited on former plantations or dedicated industrial land. Construction on the Zdata project began in early 2025, but raised issues late last year, including a temporary stoppage linked to substandard construction practices.
Health and Environmental Impacts Fuel Local Frustration
Residents have voiced frustration over daily dust pollution that they say has degraded air quality and disrupted everyday life. “Every day I have to wash my car, every day I have to wash my porch and balcony, and I can’t get fresh air anymore in my own home,” said one participant in the protest. Locals also report difficulty drying laundry outdoors due to poor air conditions, and air quality monitors indicate unhealthy particulate levels.
Concerns extend beyond air quality to high water usage by data centres. Johor authorities last year began restricting approvals for top-tier facilities because of their substantial demand for water, sometimes up to 50 million litres per day, but Zdata’s approval came before the new measures took effect.
Data Centre Tensions Reflect a Global Pattern
The dispute in Malaysia mirrors growing unease in other parts of the world, where communities are pushing back against data centre development amid worries over pollution, noise, power consumption and water stress, even as operators highlight economic benefits and sustainability commitments. Activist movements in regions like the United States, Japan and Europe have affected many large-scale data centre projects in recent years.
Zdata, a Beijing-based cloud and IT infrastructure provider with multiple facilities in China, says it is committed to environmental management and energy efficiency at its centres, including efforts to reduce consumption and promote renewable energy use. Industry peers such as Equinix, which also operates data centres in Johor and Kuala Lumpur, emphasise community engagement and adaptation of technologies such as air cooling to address water scarcity issues.
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