COMMENT | There is a man operating in Johor who calls himself a “Tech Zionist”.

He is not shy about it. He said so himself, on record, in a four-hour podcast interview in September 2023.

He compared himself - without irony or embarrassment - to the prophet Abraham, to Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith (founder of the Mormons), to Theodor Herzl (founder of Zionism), and to Lee Kuan Yew.

His name is Balaji Srinivasan, and he has been talking as if he is God’s gift to Malaysia.

Balaji is the former chief technology officer of Coinbase and a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He is the author of a 2022 book called “The Network State”, which outlines his vision for the future of human civilisation.

In that vision...