By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-07-18 16:11:42 | Updated at 2026-08-03 01:00:17
2 weeks ago
KUALA LUMPUR – US investor Balaji Srinivasan said an immigration check at a “digital nomad” community in Malaysia based on anonymous social media claims of law violations that proved unfounded could be a risk to Malaysia’s plans to be a global tech hub.
On July 15, the Immigration Department said its inspections had found that members of the Network School in Johor’s Forest City had valid travel documents, a day after the authorities announced a probe into online claims that Israelis were among them in violation of local laws.
“Should the global tech community continue investing in Malaysia?” Srinivasan, a former Coinbase chief technology officer who founded the Network School, said in a social media post late on July 16.
He said his experience would be of interest to “executives at Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, founders of tech unicorns like Coinbase and Solana, and investors at the world’s largest venture capital funds”.
Srinivasan said his further planned investments in the country were on hold until he received assurances the episode would not be repeated, and asked for a meeting with the prime minister’s office.
Reuters has sought comment from the prime minister’s office on Srinivasan’s post.
Srinivasan said false claims of harbouring illegal aliens made by an anonymous social media account sparked a visit days later by the authorities, who he said checked hundreds of passports of people, including dual passport holders, and found all were in order.
The Immigration Department said on July 15 that its inspection of 266 foreigners found they had valid documents, though further compliance checks were ongoing.
Srinivasan said that while the immigration officials were polite and professional, “the process is the punishment”.
Muslim-majority Malaysia, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Malaysia does not have specific laws barring Israelis from travelling on second-country passports.
In 2024, Malaysia launched a roadmap to become a global tech startup hub, including attractive visa programmes for foreign talent and investors, and initiatives to ease business setup and attract venture capital.
That ambition has been reinforced by a data centre investment boom in Johor, the Malaysian state where the Network School is based and which has become South-east Asia’s fastest-growing data centre hub. REUTERS
