Foreign funding is not foreign control — Ivy Josiah

In May 2026, allegations emerged that the Malaysian NGO Mandiri had received foreign funding to engage in political activities aimed at destabilising the government. This led to further measures against Mandiri and another NGO, Hayat, including freezing personal and organisational bank accounts and imposing travel restrictions on their directors.

The question arises: does receiving foreign funding make an NGO a foreign agent or a threat to the government? While it is true that Malaysia has laws governing NGOs registered under the Societies Act 1966, receiving international grants does not automatically mean an NGO is controlled by a foreign government. NGOs in Malaysia receive funding for various legitimate purposes such as women's rights, children's rights, and environmental protection.

A grant for civic education does not imply that the NGO is instructed to overthrow the government. Instead, the focus should be on what the money was given for and how it was used. The author argues that foreign funding should be subject to scrutiny over its use, not automatic assumptions that an NGO is serving foreign interests.

The suggestion that an NGO becomes a foreign puppet simply because it receives an international grant also underestimates Malaysian civil society. Malaysian NGOs are made up of Malaysians who work with local communities and understand the country's social and political realities. The relationship between a donor and an NGO should be seen as a relationship governed by agreed funding objectives, not ownership of the NGO's political conscience.