“We will not allow it,” Anwar told reporters on Wednesday. “If there are Israeli nationals, since we do not recognise Israel, they will be deported immediately.”

The Network School, a co-living compound founded by former Coinbase executive Balaji Srinivasan in Forest City, came under scrutiny after a glossy video posted by Srinivasan last week drew attention to the project and ignited an online backlash in Malaysia.

In the video, residents spoke of living on “a man-made island near Singapore”, while Srinivasan declared: “We’re building Silicon Valley outside Silicon Valley.”

A user wrote in a social media post: “Sounds like a cult, definitely operates like a cult, recruits like a cult.”