A group of 50 people protested in front of a data center construction site in Gelang Patah, Johor, last Saturday, in what was described as the first such protest of its kind in Malaysia. The group, who claimed to represent 1,000 residents from four housing estates in Gelang Patah district, demanded for an end to the dust pollution allegedly caused by the construction activities, as well as compensation for their health issues arising from said activities, Bloomberg reported. Another concern was the possible impact on the residents’ water supply.
The protesters dispersed after 90 minutes without meeting the developer who is believed to be China’s Zdata Technologies. Dozens of police personnel were at the scene to ensure a peaceful assembly.
Zdata Technologies is believed to be building a data center campus on 38 acres of land it bought from Tropicana in 2024. Bloomberg reported that Tropicana had also sold an adjacent land spanning 68 acres to NTT Data Group which has yet to begin construction.
According to the report, the construction site was located less than a kilometre from the nearest home. In contrast, other data centers in Johor are located in dedicated industrial parks or former plantation lands which are far from residential areas.
Zdata Technologies broke ground in early 2025. However, by August, 2025, the issue of dust pollution surfaced which culminated in the issuance of a two-week stop work order by the local authorities.
It is unclear what remedial action Zdata did during the intervening period.
According to the Bloomberg report, Zdata and the project’s local developer Tropicana Firstwide, a unit of Tropicana, as well as the local authorities, did not respond to press requests for comments.
Headquartered in Beijing, China, Zdata’s clients include China’s tech giants such as Alibaba, Huawei Technologies and Tencent Holdings