A Malaysian crypto investor is considering reviving the technology campus left vacant by the closure of Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School in Forest City, potentially giving the troubled Johor development a new role in Malaysia’s push to build a higher-value digital economy, Bloomberg reported.
Jeff Yew, the former head of Binance Australia and current chief executive of Monochrome Asset Management, is weighing plans to establish a new technology campus at Forest City with a distinctly “Malaysia first” approach.
According to Bloomberg, Yew has entered preliminary discussions with Srinivasan and his team over the project following the Network School’s closure last month.
“It’s about a balance of attracting talent overseas and also nurturing local entrepreneurs,” Yew told Bloomberg, adding that local scholarship programmes could form part of the initiative.
His ambition is to help position Johor as a digital hub for artificial intelligence, blockchain and computer science, while ensuring the project is structured around Malaysian interests and respects local authorities.
A Second Life For Forest City
The proposal could provide fresh momentum for Forest City, the US$100 billion development on reclaimed land in southern Malaysia that has struggled to attract the scale of residents and businesses originally envisioned.
The former Network School had been one of the development’s more unusual sources of activity. For almost two years, it attracted entrepreneurs, graduates, professionals and young families to a technology-focused community founded by Srinivasan, a prominent crypto investor and former Coinbase chief technology officer.
The experiment ended abruptly after Malaysian authorities ordered the campus to close following regulatory scrutiny and a wider public controversy. Srinivasan has since announced plans to relocate the Network School to Kazakhstan.
Yew’s proposal would take a different direction, placing greater emphasis on developing Malaysian entrepreneurs while still attracting international technology talent.
Such a campus could also complement wider efforts to revive Forest City. The Malaysian government has designated the development as a special financial zone focused partly on attracting family offices, while Johor is also at the centre of a special economic zone being developed with Singapore.
Beyond Data Centres
The potential revival comes as Malaysia seeks to move beyond the rapid expansion of data centres and strengthen its position in higher-value technology industries.
The country is targeting an inclusive and sustainable “AI nation” by 2030, while expanding capabilities in areas including AI, advanced semiconductor manufacturing, chip design, digital infrastructure and technology talent development.
Yew’s proposal remains at an early stage and no final agreement has been reached.
However, a successful revival could turn the former Network School site from the remains of one technology experiment into a platform for another — this time with Malaysian entrepreneurs and Johor’s digital ambitions placed firmly at its centre.
