“Malaysia cannot be naive,” he said, warning that such funds could be used to “manipulate voters” and “destabilise the country”.
The language was familiar.
For years, claims that foreign funding could be used to “manipulate voters” or “destabilise the country” have circulated in political and online discourse. However, when such narratives are echoed by public officials, they gain a different level of visibility and legitimacy.
A recent cross-border investigation found that similar...