Google To Setup Shop in Malaysia?

February 2, 2008

There's buzz floating around that Google is going to build a data center in Malaysia. In a discussion I'm following on Slashdot, some commenters are posting why or why not they should consider the Philippines. Here's what they have to say (and comments thrown in by me): THE YESSES: 1. Filipinos speak impeccable English. - I agree that most of us can speak decent English, but impeccable? Don't think so. But for sure we speak way better English than Malaysians (peace, la). This is still one of our strongest points over our neighboring countries. 2. Labor is cheap in the Philippines. - Not too sure, because considering the high-caliber engineers they require, Google can also have it cheap in Malaysia and India, if not cheaper. 3. The Philippines is a very Westernized place. It would be easy for them to conduct business here. - I'll have to disagree with this one. Look at China. 4. Filipinos love Linux. - Ok, this guy is stretching it. THE NAYS: 1. Filipinos don't speak impeccable English. A Filipino friend of mine thought an RPG meant Rocket Propelled Grenade. - Obviously this ignoramus is insinuating that we're a nation of war freaks. 2. Google isn't trying to build a call center. - Funny! But yeah, another jab at us. 3. The Philippines lacks broadband capacity. - Finally, someone who's making sense. Not enough has been done by the government to improve our Internet backbone, and we're paying for it dearly. 4. Running a data center requires well-trained computer technicians, not English speakers. - True, but our computer technicians are both well-trained and speak English. What's the argument? 5. If Google built a data center outside Manila, they might have to pay the NPA to avoid an attack, diba? - No comment. Check out this page on Slashdot to read the discussion's entirety. It would be great to have Google setup base in our country. We have a lot of things going for us but at the same time some factors are working against us. What do you think?

8 archived comments

Comments are preserved from the original blog and are now closed.

noemiFeb 3, 2008
I bet the government incentive was more attractive in Malaysia.
AndrewFeb 3, 2008
@Noemi: Hi Noemi! Thanks. I think the sad thing is we were never in the running. The government could have given them a set of incentives if given even a glimmer of a chance that Google would invest here.
Ria JoseFeb 3, 2008
IMHO, rather than attacking Malaysia and being hurt and all, we should ask why we were never even considered. And make the necessary actions to make our infrastructures, government policies, and whatnots, more conducive to projects such as these.
Jun MacarambonFeb 3, 2008
i think the reason Google won't put up their business here is... Foreign companies can't own a majority stake. It should be own by Filipinos. Also foreigners can't own the land. Companies leasing a land long term is not good business. Most foreign companies has local partners here.
Jun MacarambonFeb 3, 2008
plus red tape/corruptions. tsk!
jhayFeb 4, 2008
Improve the country's internet backbone first before serving any other customer. We Filipinos must be the first ones to benefit from any improvements in the local IT infrastructure.
iplannerFeb 5, 2008
or maybe google is more popular in Malaysia?
AndrewFeb 5, 2008
@Ria: Hmm. I'm not attacking Malaysia :) @Jun: Those points are quite valid. Red tape, corruption still hinders some businesses from setting up here. @Jhay: Improving our internet backbone just to have Google come over here is wrong. But what I'm saying is that the government should have worked on this a long time ago. Plus look at the ZTE mess. As a result of this delay, we have to contend with crappy connections that our providers call 'DSL' and Google is pretty much aware of that. @Iplanner: Is it really?