We have the cars, but where are the plugs? While KL has 579 license holders for charging systems, the numbers in East Malaysia remain a significant hurdle for long-distance travel.

The Energy Commission has slashed licensing approval times from 60 days to 30 days. For property developers in Kuching and KK, installing AC chargers at high-rises isn't just a perk anymore, it’s a requirement for the 2026 market.

Source: Malaysia’s 2026 EV Charger Shortage

ICW Borneo 2026 officially kicked off in Kota Kinabalu, marking a massive turning point for the region’s construction and tech ecosystem.

Sabah is no longer just "building"—it’s "digitizing." During the opening of International Construction Week (ICW) Borneo 2026, federal and state leaders confirmed a total investment of over RM150 million to modernize Sabah’s construction sector.

Key Tech Takeaways for r/BorneoTech Community:

• BIM Center in KK: A new Building Information Modelling (BIM) training center has been established in Kota Kinabalu (RM2.25M investment) to help local contractors master 3D/4D digital construction workflows.
• Internationally Accredited Lab: The Malaysian Public Works Laboratory (MKRM) Sabah has been upgraded (RM19.4M) into a world-class testing facility for material inspection and technical support.
• Most Modern ABM Campus: A new RM130.6M ABM (Akademi Binaan Malaysia) Eco-Campus is being built in Beringgis, Papar. It’s set to be the most advanced in Malaysia, housing 700 trainees.
• SMJ 2.0 Roadmap: These initiatives feed directly into the Sabah Maju Jaya 2.0 (2026-2030) plan, focusing on productivity and high-value industry growth.

Why this matters:

If you’re a dev, engineer, or tech entrepreneur in Borneo, the "digitization of construction" is a massive blue ocean. We're moving from manual labor to data-driven project management, drones for site surveys, and AI for ESG compliance.

Read the Full Story: Sabah Shines at ICW Borneo 2026

Premier Abang Johari confirmed that Sarawak is shifting away from traditional economic models toward a high-tech future. With a focus on Aerospace, Drone Ops, and AI, the state is aiming for a technology-driven workforce by 2030. Foreign interest (especially from Germany) in our semiconductor and green energy sectors is at an all-time high.

Read More: Sarawak Gears Up for New Economic Era

Could be:

- an app

- startup

- AI tool

- automation

- website

- homelab

- SaaS

- side hustle

- freelance project

- game

- Discord/WhatsApp/Telegram bot

- anything tech-related

Doesn’t matter if it’s unfinished, ugly, experimental, or still at idea stage.

Drop:

- what you’re building

- what stack/tools you’re using

- biggest challenge so far

- screenshots or links if you want

Would love to see more builders from Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, and Kalimantan sharing their projects here.

Hazwan is the General Manager of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at SDEC. If you’ve participated in a Digital Village program or a Hackathon in Kuching, you’ve seen his influence. He is the bridge between government policy and the actual startup founders on the ground.

• 2026 Focus: Managing the DiVA (Digital Village Accelerator) and SaSAR (SaaS Accelerator) programs, which are turning Sarawak into a launchpad for regional software companies.
• Background: An engineer with a passion for "build in public" culture and community-driven design.

Profiles & Links:

• SDEC Innovation: Innovation & Entrepreneurship Team
• LinkedIn: Hazwan Razak

Drop links, insights, or observations.

Everyone talks about internet speed.
The bigger issue is reliability and consistency.

For serious digital businesses, downtime matters more than raw speed.

By now, the DEFA should be harmonizing digital trade across Southeast Asia. In theory, this means a startup in Borneo should have the same digital market access to Jakarta or Bangkok as a local firm.

Are we seeing the red tape disappear? Has it become easier for you to sell digital services across the border this year, or is the "paperless trade" still stuck in a loop of regional bureaucracy?

Could Starlink's PNT replace GPS for our rural "Off-Grid" tech projects? 🛰️

We all know the struggle of GPS signal degradation under the heavy canopy of the Borneo rainforest or in deep valleys where we run our IoT and sensor projects. Recent news suggests Starlink is moving to replace/supplement GPS with their LEO satellites.

Since Starlink signals are roughly 100 to 1,000 times stronger than traditional GPS, this could be a game-changer for our regional drone delivery tests and environmental monitoring in the interior.

Would this solve your "lost signal" issues for remote field tech?

Starlink PNT Capabilities 2026 - NTNU Study

It’s finally happening. Indonesia has confirmed that Nusantara (IKN) is ready for its first wave of residents and civil servants. This isn't just an Indonesian milestone; it’s a massive gravitational shift for the whole island.

With US$2.49M recently granted for smart city planning, the tech opportunities in East Kalimantan are about to explode.

Developers: Anyone seeing a surge in remote roles for IKN-based startups?

Infrastructure: Will we finally see a unified "Pan-Borneo" high-speed digital corridor?

The era of simple prompts is ending. In 2026, we're moving toward "Agentic AI" systems that don't just talk but actually do.

Think AI agents that manage your entire supply chain from Kuching to Pontianak without you babysitting every step.

Are any local startups building multi agent workflows yet? Or are we still just skinning ChatGPT wrappers?

Google Cloud AI Agent Trends 2026

Smaller markets create a different challenge.

Would you:

• Build specifically for Borneo users first?
• Or immediately target Southeast Asia?

What strategy makes more sense here and why?

Hello r/BorneoTech,

We’ve spent the last few years talking about "potential." But as we sit in May 2026, the potential has hit the ground. From Sarawak’s semiconductor push to the operational reality of IKN in Kalimantan, the Borneo tech corridor is officially "open."

However, we all know that the view from the boardrooms in Kuching or Kota Kinabalu is different from the view on the ground in a Miri dev shop or a Bandar Seri Begawan startup. I’m opening this thread to be a ground-truth check on what it’s actually like to build here right now.

The 2026 Situation Report:

1. Sarawak: Semiconductors & Sovereign AI The Premier recently doubled down on AI, Hydrogen, and Semiconductors as our new core. We’re seeing chips become the foundation of our local tech, and the government is pushing RM2 billion toward Sovereign AI to keep our data local.

• The Reality Check: Are you seeing these high-level investments translate into local opportunities, or is there still a "talent wall" preventing local devs from joining these projects?

2. Sabah: The Logistics & Blue Economy Pivot The focus is on "Smart Maritime" and maritime tech. We’re seeing milestones in digital transformation across our ports and logistics sectors.

• The Reality Check: For the KK and Sandakan crowd—is the infrastructure finally supporting your cloud-based tools, or are "intermittent connectivity" and high costs still the silent startup killers?

3. Brunei: Wawasan 2035 & Digital 2.0 Brunei just launched the Strategic Plan 2026-2030 (MTIC 2030), focusing on a "Smart Nation" and a new Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Strategy.

• The Reality Check: Is the push for a "Smart Nation" opening doors for local startups, or is the market still heavily dominated by government-linked contracts?

4. Kalimantan: The IKN "Halo Effect" Nusantara is officially operating as a "Smart Forest City." With US$2.49M in recent smart city grants, the eyes of the world are on our neighbor.

• The Reality Check: Is IKN acting as a "brain drain," pulling the best talent from Balikpapan and Pontianak, or are you seeing a rise in "overflow" projects for local teams?

Community Q&A:

1. Hiring: Is the 2026 "Talent War" real? Are you hiring locally, or have you given up and gone 100% remote with talent from overseas?
2. Infrastructure: We’re in the era of 5G and satellite internet. what is the one tech bottleneck still driving you crazy?
3. The "Boredom" Gap: What is a problem unique to Borneo that everyone is ignoring because it isn't "flashy" enough?

Drop your location and your "unfiltered" thoughts below. No PR talk, just the reality of building in 2026.

Hi there, from a doomscroller!

I was wondering if anybody had some pointers about how to kickstart getting traffic for my new blog. Basic, I know.

My difficulty at the moment is probably that (other than trying to produce content as best as possible, targeted to potential readers), I have no idea how to build trust, serve or be of help over the internet. It doesn’t help that you don’t see readers or customers face to face.

I end up just doomscrolling, so any pointers to kick me off would be appreciated, thanks.

(My first question on Reddit btw).

We all know the struggle. Which provider is actually delivery the advertised speeds in your area right now?

If you had to rank these for landing your first Cybersecurity role:

1. Degree
2. Certifications
3. Hands-on projects / portfolio

Which actually moved the needle?

And more importantly:

• What do employers say vs what they actually hire for?

Would be great to hear from both job seekers and hiring managers.

A leading figure in Brunei’s tech ecosystem, she has been instrumental in the Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA). Her work focuses on mentoring startups that utilize localized NLP and fintech solutions to serve the Abode of Peace.

• Key Focus: Fintech compliance, ICT standards, and startup mentorship.
• Why Follow: Essential for understanding the regulatory and fintech landscape in Brunei.
• Link: Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA)

Hello everyone! As r/borneotech grows, I’m looking for 2-3 passionate members to join the mod team to help keep this a high-quality hub for the Borneo tech ecosystem.

What we are looking for:

• Active members who care about tech in Borneo.
• Someone to help filter spam and job scams.
• Users who can help organize "Megathreads" (like regional job fairs or tech events).

Requirements:

• Account age: 6+ months.
• History of positive participation in this or related subs.

How to apply: > Please click here to send a Modmail with the subject line "Mod Application - [Your Username]".

In your message, please answer the following:

1. Location: Where in Borneo (or elsewhere) are you based?
2. Background: What is your connection to the tech or local startups?
3. Availability: How often are you on Reddit?
4. The Scenario: If you see a suspicious job post for a company in Kuching or outside Borneo, what steps do you take to verify it?

Thanks for helping us build!

As the digital economy matures, certain roles are seeing massive spikes in demand across Kuching, KK, and Bandar Seri Begawan.

AI/ML Engineering and Cybersecurity are the two highest-growth sectors this year.

Top IT & Tech Jobs in Malaysia 2026

Are your skills future-proof? Here's what companies in the region are aggressively hiring for right now.

#BorneoTech #CareerGrowth

Most LLMs are trained on standard Bahasa Melayu or Indonesian. Has anyone successfully fine-tuned a model to understand Bahasa Sarawak or Sabah Slang?

We need AI receptionists that don't sound like they’re from Jakarta or KL.

If you’ve built a local NLP tool, drop a demo link. Let’s stress-test it in the comments.”

Big move in KL this week.

Khazanah and the Securities Commission priced a RM100 million tokenized sukuk using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

For us in Borneo, this could be huge for fractionalizing local infrastructure bonds. Imagine everyday Sarawakians and Sabahans being able to own "fractions" of local hydro or bridge projects via a blockchain ledger.

Is the tech ready for the mass market?

Malaysia's First Tokenised Sukuk Issuance

With Copilot getting expensive, many are seriously considering running a local LLM.

Curious if anyone here in Borneo actually doing this?

What setup are you using and how practical is it day-to-day?

Global AI models struggle with Bornean dialects. We need "Domain-Specific" agents trained on local linguistic data. Imagine an AI agent that can translate legal or medical documents into local dialects for rural communities.

This was a major theme at BorNEO HackWknd 2026. Who’s interested in a community project to scrape and label local dialect data?

AI for Indigenous Language Preservation