Kuala Lampur, Sept. 11 -- Malaysia wants to become an AI nation. But every new cloud campus, hyperscale facility and AI factory rests on something far less futuristic: water.

The country's data-centre boom is accelerating. In the first half of 2026, data-centre and cloud-computing projects accounted for RM95.8 billion in approved investments, close to 44 per cent of Malaysia's total approved investment. MIDA says around 4.6 gigawatts of capacity is planned or under construction. Johor, with its proximity to Singapore and large industrial land banks, sits at the centre of this expansion.

This is good news for Malaysia's ambition to move up the digital value chain. But it also raises a question that investment announcements rarely answer:...