The Malaysian government has denied allegations that the country is being used as a transit hub for smuggling NVIDIA artificial intelligence (AI) chips into China.
While speaking on a local TV station’s economics program on 7 February, the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz confirmed that Malaysia strictly adheres to international export control regulations.
Malaysia Reaffirms Export Control Compliance
According to the minister, Malaysia will not let its semiconductor and logistics industries be misused by criminals for any illegal trading activities.
The smuggling allegations came up after reports that the U.S. commerce department is investigating Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.
The U.S. is investigating the startup for allegedly acquiring restricted semiconductor technology, including NVIDIA’s high-performance AI chips.
Allegations have emerged that AI chips are being stolen and smuggled into China via conduits in the UAE, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Zafrul assured that Malaysia is working with global partners to strengthen the oversight of sensitive technologies and avoid these unauthorized trade.
He restated Malaysia’s agreement with export control measures stipulated by the United States, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom.
The government has pledged to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with international regulations and safeguard its position as a key player in the global semiconductor and AI industry.
Increasing security concerns due to DeepSeek rise
Despite being developed at a low cost of $6 million, DeepSeek’s AI chatbot has gained global attention, competing with established names like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Zafrul said that the success of DeepSeek shows that AI technology is no longer monopolized by a few countries or large companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has banned government employees from using DeepSeek, citing concerns over national information security.
The move shows growing concerns over data security in AI applications, mostly those of Chinese origin.
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