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Speaking at the launch of Bersama Malaysia today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the initiative will cost at least US$1 billion, or RM4 billion.
It is said to be Microsoft’s “most significant investment” in Malaysia in the past three decades, which will see the company establishing its first data centre region in the country, among others.
Muhyiddin said this will comprise “multiple data centres to manage data from various countries”, all running on renewable energy by 2025.
It will also generate US$6.90 for every US$1 of Microsoft Malaysia’s cloud revenue and create about 19,000 job opportunities, including 4,000 IT-related jobs.
The Bersama Malaysia initiative also includes Microsoft partnering with the Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit, the Human Resources Development Fund, Petronas, Celcom and Grab.
“I was made to understand by Microsoft that these partnerships will help skill, in various degrees, up to one million Malaysians by the end of 2023.
“I hope these successful partnerships can be a template to bridge the digital divide and empower each Malaysian through technology adoption,” he said.
Muhyiddin also revealed that the initiative will see Microsoft providing cloud services to the public sector.
He said all the plans outlined under the MyDigital initiative and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, which focuses on rolling out 5G infrastructure and technology services in the country, were “being executed as we speak”.
Microsoft Corporation executive vice-president Jean-Philippe Courtois said it is partnering with enterprises and associations for disabled persons to “provide digital and sub-skill training to young adults and people living with disabilities”.
Courtois also announced that the company is cooperating with the education ministry to provide 5.2 million students and educators with Microsoft technologies.
He said it is also working to integrate Microsoft content into university curriculums.
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