Indian-American CEO wanted a new country, then a real nation got in the way

Balaji Srinivasan spent two years trying to prove that a country could be launched the way a startup is—community first, territory later. Last week, a local council in southern Malaysia ended the experiment with a piece of paperwork. The Network School, the Indian-American founder's live-in campus set inside a half-empty Chinese-built development a bridge away from Singapore, was ordered to cease operations over licensing irregularities, The Wall Street Journal reported on August 1.The shutdown arrived after weeks of scrutiny over something unrelated to licences: the nationality of some residents. An Instagram post by a pro-Palestine group claimed the school had admitted Israeli citizens, including one travelling on a second passport. Malaysia does not officially recognise Israel and requires Israeli nationals to secure special permission before entering. Immigration officers arrived on campus to inspect passports. Authorities later said no wrongdoing had been established and the investigation was continuing.