PETALING JAYA – Network School has put a planned RM500 million (S$160 million) expansion in Malaysia on hold, with founder Balaji Srinivasan saying the company will not proceed without assurances that the controversy surrounding its Forest City campus will not recur.

The start-up-focused international technology community is also seeking a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian government, Balaji said in a post on social media platform X.

“At this point, all further investment we were planning to make in Malaysia is on hold until we get sufficient assurance that such issues won’t recur,” he wrote.

“So are the investment plans of many of our friends, including the execs and investors at global tech firms that we brought to Forest City.”

Balaji said Network School had been on the verge of expanding its community with an investment of more than RM500 million and launching a global merit scholarship with Replit founder and chief executive officer Amjad Masad.

He said the company had already invested more than RM100 million in its Forest City campus without government funding, employing dozens of Malaysians and supporting local technology start-ups and businesses.

Balaji said he established Network School in Malaysia in October 2024 after being encouraged by the country’s pro-technology policies, including the KL20 initiative, digital nomad and investor visa programmes, and the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.

He said the community had since attracted thousands of engineers, investors and entrepreneurs from more than 70 countries.

The controversy arose after an anonymous social media account accused Network School of harbouring undocumented migrants