JOHOR BARU: The business licence of Network School in Forest City has been revoked for breaching licensing conditions and premises-use regulations.
Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) announced yesterday that it had revoked the licence of NSO Malaysia Sdn Bhd effective today and ordered the company to cease all operations.
It said the decision was made during a special full council meeting following inspections and enforcement checks at the company’s premises on July 12, 14, 19 and 20.
The local authority said investigations found that the company had failed to comply with licensing conditions and the approved use of its premises, warranting enforcement action under existing by-laws.
MBIP said the company, operated a campus at Teluk Bintang in Pulau Satu, had been served with a Stop Business Notice under the MBIP Trade, Business and Industrial Licensing By-Laws 2018.
The council also revoked the company’s advertising licence after discovering that the business activities carried out at the premises differed from those approved under its office-use licence.
It added that a notice requiring the company to comply with its advertising licence had been issued after determining that the signboard displayed did not match the approved application.
The enforcement action received the full backing of Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who emphasised that no investor, company or organisation was above Malaysian law.
“The fact that a premises has been operating for some time does not necessarily mean all its activities have consistently complied with licensing conditions.
“Once non-compliance is identified, action must be taken without compromise,” he said.
Onn Hafiz said Johor remained committed to welcoming high- quality investments that created jobs, strengthened the economy and drove the its development.
He called on the Home Ministry, Immigration Department, police and other relevant agencies to continue investigating allegations involving the misuse of second passports, identity misrepresentation, breaches of entry conditions and any other offences.
Onn Hafiz said Johor’s position as the country’s gateway meant that any weaknesses or abuse of the immigration system had to be addressed swiftly and decisively.
He also urged the Digital Ministry and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation to review Network School’s Malaysia Digital status or any other recognition granted to it if any non-compliance with stipulated conditions or principles was established.
He called on all relevant agencies to tighten due diligence and strengthen inter-agency coordination to ensure Johor remained a trusted investment destination without compromising national security, sovereignty or the rule of law.
The Network School is a co-living and co-working technology commune with memberships starting at US$1,500 (RM6,135) a month. Founded by American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan, it operates as a startup society for digital nomads, remote workers and others.
On July 14, allegations emerged that Israeli nationals had participated in the programme using passports issued by other countries.
