How Cyberjaya became Malaysia's 'failed Silicon Valley'

Check out our top articles for the week. [Read from your browser]( Top Stories of The Week Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Sunday newsletter! Get full access to our subscribers-only premium content and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community by [registering here](. Hello {NAME} A proper history or study of that place is beyond today’s note. But naturally, its success certainly inspired other countries including Malaysia to follow suit. We have two so-called Silicon Valleys. The first is the notorious “failed” one located in Cyberjaya, a city near the capital Kuala Lumpur. The second is Penang, a state known as the “Silicon Valley of the East.” Between the two, Penang more closely resembles Silicon Valley because Malaysia’s second-richest state is home to a robust tech manufacturing sector and a growing startup community. That said, progress has been slow and that place has its fair share of problems. Cyberjaya, on the other hand, was supposed to eclipse Penang. This was part of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s grand idea of having a “multimedia super corridor” (MSC). Mahathir had a penchant for ambitious projects. Cyberjaya was one of them, and it has attracted some big names over the years. But the city is host to a mishmash of regional headquarters, research and development hubs, and call centers. Innovation, too, never quite took off. In Malaysia, two things usually stand out: ego and lack of policy smarts. In the case of the former, a new prime minister will usually have his own version or idea of what his predecessor started. This was the case for Bangsar South, which is the brainchild of Mahathir’s successor, Najib Razak. There’s also no innovation in Bangsar South, just SaaS companies that have made it their headquarters and call center hub. As for the lack of policy smarts, let’s go back to Cyberjaya. When Mahathir was in power, his government granted multinational tech companies MSC status to entice them to set up shop in the city. This came with a few important incentives, including 10 years’ tax exemption. But funnily enough, a company didn’t need to be based in Cyberjaya to be deemed an MSC. So what was the point then? In fact, the MSC status is still around and has been renamed as “Malaysia Digital.” Another thing is that government agencies now do not need to be solely based in Cyberjaya. They have satellite offices in Bangsar South - the more connected “hub” to Kuala Lumpur. So what’s in it for Cyberjaya, you might ask. Who knows, really? But until someone can really crack the whip, it will keep making headlines for being Malaysia’s “failed Silicon Valley”. -- [Emmanuel Samarathisa]( journalist at Tech in Asia  --------------------------------------------------------------- TOP STORIES THIS WEEK 1️. [Malaysia’s ‘failed Silicon Valley’ is becoming a white elephant]( Cyberjaya may risk losing out to Kuala Lumpur if there’s no policy change. 2. [Gender inequality runs deep in Indonesia’s tech industry]( The country’s tech sector sees among the lowest women’s participation rates in Southeast Asia. 3. [How an SG regtech firm won over Standard Chartered and HSBC with ‘ChatGPT for banks’]( Established by three Polish serial entrepreneurs, Silent Eight uses AI to deal with financial crimes. 4. [Blibli posts 72% revenue jump in 2022 but remains in the red]( The Indonesian ecommerce firm also saw a 23% drop in total assets after paying off its debts to banks and selling all of its GoTo shares. 5. [Deepfakes and profiling: charting AI controversies]( Deepfakes of politicians, police efforts to profile gang members, and image generators have caused quite a stir, according to AI researchers. 6. [Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade: prepare for short-term volatility, prepare for long-term growth]( On Thursday morning, the Shanghai update will go live on the Ethereum mainnet, introducing new features and likely causing short-term price volatility. 7. [Vingroup founder’s EV play revs up Vietnam’s ride-hailing race]( The billionaire behind both Vingroup and VinFast is betting that his new EV venture can resurrect competition in Vietnam’s ride-hailing landscape. 8. [Can Zomato serve $100b on the menu by 2030?]( The foodtech major is betting on other sectors for additional revenue but continues to be burdened by widening losses. 9. [Southeast Asia’s top-funded tech companies in the last decade]( As investors in Southeast Asia race to back the next industry leader, which tech firm will claim the region's funding crown? 10. [All the tools you need to build a startup]( With a huge variety of apps offering innovative solutions for payments, design, and more, anything you need to start up is available. ---------------------------------------------------------------  EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here](. - [Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference 2023]( from May 16 to May 17 Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference is back! 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