KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) said on Friday that it has never cleared Singapore-based Megaspeed International Pte Ltd or its Malaysian affiliate Speedmatrix Sdn Bhd.
The ministry clarified that Speedmatrix operates as a tenant at data centres in Malaysia, and that any verification visits conducted at these facilities are merely part of its regular sector monitoring.
“... and (these visits) should not be taken to mean that a company has been cleared. Any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate,” Miti said in a statement on Friday.
However, the statement did not address what was both entities cleared of, or what was the allegation it was responding to.
The ministry is now working with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department to determine whether any of the AI chips brought into Malaysia for Speedmatrix’s operations have been re-exported to other countries, and whether those shipments complied with the law.
“Malaysia will carry out its own checks independently, in accordance with Malaysian law and based on the evidence available,” Miti said, adding that the government will take stern action against any company found to have broken Malaysian law.
While importing servers and AI chips into Malaysia requires no permit, a Strategic Trade Act 2010 permit has been mandatory since July 2025 to export, re-export, transship, or transit high-performance US AI chips from or through the country.
Providing false information to Customs regarding such goods is also a serious offence under the Customs Act 1967, it added.
To bolster safeguards, Miti is collaborating closely with authorities in Singapore and the US, and is weighing further measures to tighten controls where necessary.
The ministry noted that while Malaysia does not enforce unilateral export controls imposed by other nations, companies operating locally are expected to take such regulations into account in their international dealings.
“Malaysia welcomes investment in data centres and technology, but will not allow itself to be used to get around export controls,” Miti said, while warning companies to not misrepresent their dealings with government agencies.