‘Lesson’ for Johor: Data centres should not be sited too near homes, says assemblyman after outcry

A Johor assemblyman admits data centres near homes should never happen again after public uproar over a project in Taman Nusa Bayu. Read more at straitstimes.com.

ISKANDAR PUTERI, Johor – A Johor assemblyman has conceded that the recent public uproar over a data centre built too close to homes should serve as a “lesson” for the state government.

The state government should have consulted residents before embarking on data centre projects, Kota Iskandar assemblyman Pandak Ahmad admitted at a March 11 press conference held with Beijing-based data centre operator ZData.

In 2024, ZData, which operates in Malaysia under the subsidiary Computility Technology, and Japan-based NTT Data Group purchased a 43.5ha plot near the Taman Nusa Bayu residential neighbourhood in Iskandar Puteri to build their respective data centre campuses.

Developers began clearing land early in 2025 for construction, which included the levelling of a hill that residents once cherished. In nearby Taman Nusantara Prima, construction hoardings start just outside residents’ backyards.

Mr Ramli Paiman, who lives in Taman Nusantara Prima, said residents had to put up with dust clouds from the nearby construction site that “will fall from the sky into their homes”.

During heavy rain, flash floods occur on the roads surrounding the residential estate, the 65-year-old retiree told The Straits Times.