Network School founder says immigration probe at tech commune is a\nrisk to Malaysia\u2019s tech ambitions<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR: US investor Balaji Srinivasan said an immigration check\nat a \u201cdigital nomad\u201d community in Malaysia, based on anonymous social\nmedia claims of law violations that proved unfounded, could be a risk to\nMalaysia\u2019s plans to be a global tech hub.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday (Jul 15), the Immigration Department said its\ninspections had found that members of the Network School had valid\ntravel documents, a day after authorities announced a probe into online\nclaims that Israelis were among them in violation of local laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould the global tech community continue investing in Malaysia?\u201d\nSrinivasan, a former Coinbase chief technology officer who founded the\nNetwork School, said in a social media post late on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He said his experience would be of interest to \u201cexecutives at Google,\nAmazon, Apple, and Microsoft, founders of tech unicorns like Coinbase\nand Solana, and investors at the world\u2019s largest venture capital\nfunds\u201d.<\/p>\n
Srinivasan said his further planned investments in the country were\non hold until he received assurances the episode would not be repeated,\nand asked for a meeting with the prime minister\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Reuters has sought comment from the prime minister\u2019s office on\nSrinivasan\u2019s post.<\/p>\n
Srinivasan said false claims of harbouring illegal aliens made by an\nanonymous social media account sparked a visit days later by\nauthorities, who he said checked hundreds of passports of people,\nincluding dual passport holders, and found all were in order.<\/p>\n
The Immigration Department said on Wednesday that its inspection of\n266 foreigners found they had valid documents, though further compliance\nchecks were ongoing.<\/p>\n
Srinivasan said that while the immigration officials were polite and\nprofessional, \u201cthe process is the punishment\u201d.<\/p>\n
Muslim-majority Malaysia, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian\ncause, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Malaysia does not\nhave specific laws barring Israelis from travelling on second-country\npassports.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Malaysia launched a roadmap to become a global tech startup\nhub, including attractive visa programmes for foreign talent and\ninvestors, and initiatives to ease business setup and attract venture\ncapital. That ambition has been reinforced by a data centre investment\nboom in Johor, the Malaysian state where the Network School is based and\nwhich has become Southeast Asia\u2019s fastest-growing data centre hub.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/network-school-founder-says-immigration-probe-at-tech-commune-is-a-risk-to-malaysias-tech-ambitions-1784274612", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }