Queen: Assess data centres' impact on environment, communities

JOHOR BARU: Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia, has called on the authorities, the private sector and the public to evaluate the impact of data centre development on the environment and community well-being.

The queen said such assessments must account for high electricity and water consumption, land misuse and effects on residents.

"I hope that the authorities, the private sector, and the public will evaluate the impact of 'data centres' in this country.

"We must consider the extremely high demand for electricity and water, land misuse, and the overall impact of these data centres on our society, including issues such as noise levels and the brightness of lights that remain illuminated from day through to the night," she said.

Raja Zarith Sofiah spoke at the 70th Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) convocation ceremony here today, which was broadcast live on UTM's Facebook page.

Raja Zarith Sofiah, who is also UTM chancellor, said technological advancement cannot be separated from environmental sustainability, noting that human activity has already driven climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and natural resource depletion.

She urged the educated community to tackle environmental degradation by shifting their attitudes and embracing responsibility to preserve the planet for future generations.

Raja Zarith Sofiah also said artificial intelligence (AI) should be harnessed to improve society's quality of life, rather than pursued solely for economic gain.

As a research university that pioneered Malaysia's first Faculty of Artificial Intelligence, UTM bears a major responsibility to ensure technological development remains guided by ethics, integrity and human values, she said.

The queen reminded graduates that rapid AI evolution brings both opportunities and challenges, requiring them to continuously upgrade their knowledge and skills.

The six-day convocation, beginning today and ending on Nov 19 at Dewan Sultan Iskandar, celebrates 7,369 graduates across 10 sessions.