The Johor state government has ordered Network School’s Malaysia operations to be halted and revoked its business license in Forest City

PANews, July 21: According to a statement by Johor State Secretary Onn Hafiz Ghazi, the Johor state government has announced the cancellation of the business license of NS0 Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Network School) in Forest City, and ordered it to stop all operations effective July 22. The statement said the decision was made based on the results of enforcement inspections and legal procedures, stressing that even if a project has an investment background, it will be handled with “zero tolerance” if there are violations of license conditions, immigration regulations, or safety and sovereignty risks. The Johor state government also urged the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Immigration Department, the police, and relevant security agencies to continue investigating whether there is misuse of a second passport, false identity declarations, and violations of entry requirements; meanwhile, it asked the Ministry of Digital and MDEC to re-review its qualifications such as “Malaysia Digital,” and to strengthen due diligence and cross-department coordination on the backgrounds of foreign-funded institutions, sources of funds, and operating narratives.

The Network School was launched by Balaji Srinivasan, former Coinbase CTO and author of 《The Network State》. Essentially, it is a paid co-living plus co-working community: founders, engineers, creators, and digital nomads from more than 70 countries live in the same compound, paying about $1,000–$2,000 per month (mostly paid using cryptocurrencies). The package includes accommodation, three meals a day, a gym, a Cowork space, and various talks / Demo Days. Its slogan is “Learn, Burn, Earn, Fun”.