Arya News - The technology start-up and co-living commune, `Network School`, is now at the centre of a controversy after allegations that it has hosted Israeli participants using second-country passports, prompting Malaysian authorities to launch an investigation.
SINGAPORE – In 2024, American entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan – formerly chief technology officer of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase – founded a technology start-up co-living and co-working project in Johor’s Forest City.
Dubbed Network School, the commune is now at the centre of a controversy after allegations that it has hosted Israeli participants using second-country passports, prompting the Malaysian authorities to launch an investigation.
In response to the controversy, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on July 15 that any Israeli citizens who are involved in Network School will immediately be deported.
“The matter has been left to the relevant agencies, and I believe the Higher Education Minister will explain,” said Anwar.
“If any wrongdoing is found, action must be taken. If there are Israeli nationals involved, they will be deported immediately because Malaysia does not recognise Israel.”
Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel owing to its pro-Palestine stance. Israeli passport holders are barred from entering Malaysia unless granted special permission by the Home Ministry.
However, Israeli citizens cannot be barred if they enter using passports from other countries – itself a practice that is not unlawful.
Malaysia’s Home Ministry said on July 14 it has launched a full investigation and vowed strict action against the misuse of the country’s immigration facilities.
On July 15, the Immigration Department said 266 foreigners from 40 countries were investigated, and early checks found that all individuals hold valid immigration documents. It added that it is further investigating possible identity fraud, misuse of travel documents or immigration facilities, and breaches of pass conditions.
In response, Forest City said it is taking the Network School nationality-related allegations seriously and will fully cooperate with the Malaysian authorities on any investigation.
“Forest City reiterates its zero-tolerance toward any breach of the law, misuse of premises, immigration non-compliance or activity that could jeopardise public safety, public order or national interests,” it said in a July 15 press release.
Srinivasan or Network School has not issued any public remarks over the allegations.
What is Network School and why is it based in Forest City?
To understand the furore, it helps to know what Network School actually is. The programme brands itself on its website as a “frontier community for techno-optimists”.
Essentially, it is a co-living space where tech founders, content creators and entrepreneurs can live, work, collaborate and share ideas.
However, Srinivasan also views it as a building block towards his vision of a “network state” – envisioning a future where technopreneurs can crowdfund a “new country” from scattered tech societies around the world, with the eventual goal of these countries gaining “diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states”.
In February 2025, Srinivasan wrote on his website that Network School had a capacity for 245 members and was building a permanent campus that can house more than 1,024 members.
To access the three-month programme, membership starts at US$1,500 (S$1,900) a month for shared hotel-like accommodation, which includes meals, gym access and co-working facilities.
Members who have attended the programme talked about beachfront living, daily buffet meals, free gym classes and attending workshops led by notable names in the tech and artificial intelligence industry.
Located on the shores of the Strait of Johor close to the Second Link with Singapore’s Tuas, Forest City is an embattled mega property project that has struggled to find its footing since its launch in 2016.
Built by China-based Country Garden Pacificview, it was initially meant to accommodate 700,000 people on four man-made islands by 2035, but only 15 per cent of the project is currently complete.
The US$100 billion project faced major hurdles. Among these were environmental concerns and China’s capital controls introduced in 2017, while policy changes after former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad returned to power in 2018 made it harder for foreign buyers to obtain residency visas.
The Covid-19 pandemic further cemented its reputation as a “ghost town”.
But it received a boost in August 2023 when Anwar designated Forest City a Special Financial Zone, offering tax incentives to companies and family offices.
In April 2026, Country Garden Pacificview said Forest City was home to nine family offices, with more expected.
In a Bloomberg interview, Johor’s former executive councillor for investments Lee Ting Han said that more international participants coming through the Network School has brought “an energy to the area that was missing”.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo and his deputy Wilson Ugak Kumbong were also seen visiting Network School in a social media post by cryptocurrency collective Superteam Malaysia on April 17.
Why Malaysians are concerned over Network School’s presence
The issue came to public light on July 14 when Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi raised concerns over Network School, fresh from getting a new mandate following his coalition Barisan Nasional’s landslide win in the state election on July 11.
Onn Hafiz said the Johor state government is taking the “people’s concerns seriously” and has requested relevant federal ministries to investigate Network School’s operations, including allegations some Israeli citizens are participating in the programme using second-country passports.
“I would like to affirm that the Johor state government will not allow any party to use this state as a base to introduce ideologies or movements that contradict the law, sovereignty and interests of Johor and Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
Backlash has ramped up on social media after activist group Malaysian Protest 4 Palestine accused Network School of recruiting entrepreneurs to establish a “settlement” in Johor. It also alleged that those who applied to join were asked about Israel, military technology and political issues.
“The issue has been an on-and-off topic on social media since a few months ago, but after we did the research and simplified the issue on our Instagram page, the post instantly blew up and got social media attention,” its spokesman told The Straits Times.
Alarm bells were first raised in October 2025, after Israeli content creator Nuseir Yassin, better known as Nas Daily, appeared in a promotional video for Network School – prompting lawmakers to question how he had entered Malaysia. The video has since been deleted from social media platform X.
In a 2022 video, Yassin explained that he had finally managed to enter Malaysia despite the ban – by entering Johor Bahru via Singapore using a Saint Kitts and Nevis passport. He alleged that he paid US$150,000 to apply for the passport, which provides visa-free access to 156 countries.
On July 11, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman said he would “personally look into this matter” in Parliament after reporters highlighted the concerns on social media.
Five lawmakers from Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) also called for an emergency motion in Parliament on July 14 to seek explanations from the federal government.
PAS lawmaker Mumtaz Md Nawi said the matter involved both national security and the future direction of the Forest City development project.
“The issue now involves allegations that Israeli citizens are using economic, investment and education platforms to penetrate Malaysia,” she said.