Malaysia orders shutdown of Balaji Srinivasan's Network School

The Malaysian government has ordered the shutdown of the Network School, a community centred on tech startups, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The group, which calls itself a "frontier community for techno-optimists," grew out of investor and entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan's belief that the United States is in irreversible decline. Srinivasan has said his goal is to "start a new country." The school is seen as the first step in a seven-stage plan, detailed in his book "The Network State," for building a new society.

The Network School is based in a disused Malaysian hotel, and the WSJ described it as "part tech incubator, part self-improvement retreat." However, participants complained about mouldy rooms, as well as a shortage of women and nightlife. After the WSJ contacted Srinivasan, he – who apparently gave up his U.S. citizenship in 2023 – published a lengthy post on X declaring that he is "a proud Singaporean" and accusing the publication of working on a "hit piece" that would portray him as "an odd duck" rather than "an early adopter."

Although the current Malaysian campus is reportedly closing because of licensing issues, Srinivasan recently announced a new agreement for a campus in Kazakhstan. That suggests the venture, despite its setback in Southeast Asia, is pressing ahead with its plan to establish a self-styled new community abroad.