Malaysia takes seriously the smuggling claims of Chips Nvidia AI to China, reaffirms the fulfillment of export control, says the minister

Kuala Lumpur, February 7 – The Malaysian government takes seriously the accusation that the country is being used as a transit point for smuggling of artificial intelligence (AI) chips of NVIDIA to China and undertakes to comply with the regulations International export control multilaterals.

The Minister of Investment, Commerce and Industry, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, said Malaysia does not want any part to exploit its position as a regional logistics and semiconductor center for illegal activities.

“We firmly adhere to export control regulations under the Strategic Commerce Law, which governs export, transit and transford of strategic goods, including semiconductors.

“The Malaysian policy is aligned with the control measures implemented by the United States (USA), the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom,” he said during an interview in the Ruang Bicara Bicara AspiCasi Ekonomi program of television Bernama on Wednesday.

To strengthen supervision, he said that the Government is improving international cooperation to monitor the flow of sensitive technologies, such as H100 and A100 nvidia chips used in high -performance AI applications.

In other developments, the Chinese technology firm Depseek has called worldwide attention after announcing a third generation AI model that operates with less computer power than Nvidia chips, with a total expenditure of less than US $ 6 million (RM27 million ).

Tengku Zafrul said that Depseek’s success shows that AI technology is no longer monopolized by some countries or large companies such as Microsoft, OpenAi or Google.

“Now we are seeing China, Alibaba and perhaps soon India or the EU that compete in AI technology.

“Technological advances such as Deepseek have a positive impact, which makes AI more inclusive and accessible to more users. If AI can operate at a lower cost, more companies, including small and medium enterprises (SME), they can take advantage of it to increase productivity, ”he explained.

He added that AI models depend less on high -power graphics processing units could also reduce energy consumption, which makes AI technology more sustainable.

Malaysia needs to strengthen R&D and investment in technology

Tengku Zafrul emphasized that the success of AI technology in China and other countries should serve as a lesson for Malaysia.

“If we only focus on producing qualified labor but neglecting research and development (R&D), we will be left behind. The government has introduced the new industrial plan to improve the value chain in the semiconductor industries and AI, ”he said.

He shared that Malaysia is now prioritizing the development of the integrated circuit design (IC) and the manufacture of wafers, areas that remain little higher than local companies.

“Although Malaysia has been in the semiconductor industry for 50 years, most companies still focus on assembly and testing activities (Back-End). Therefore, the Government is providing R&D incentives and subsidies to encourage investment in high -value technology.

“We must make the transition of simply a production center to become an innovation leader and technology development,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul reiterated that the Ministry of Investment, Commerce and Industry (MITI) remains committed to ensuring that the benefits of AI technology are extended to SMEs and the local workforce.

He stressed that the Government aims to create effects of economic spill not only for large corporations but also for SMEs and microenterprises.

“A key concern is the problem of ‘brain drainage. Many of our qualified professionals are migrating to Singapore, the United States, China and Taiwan due to limited work opportunities in the Malaysian high -tech sectors.

“To address this, Miti is working to attract more technology companies that can offer high quality jobs to Malays. We do not want to be only a country that gives labor, but also an innovation and technology leader, ”he said.

Tengku Zafrul added that Malaysia will continue to review its policies to remain competitive in the AI ​​industries and fast evolution digital technology. – Bernama