Following allegations of foreign funding being used to destabilise the government and threaten political stability, a series of severe administrative and legal measures were initiated against civil society organisations Mandiri and HAYAT.
In early September 2026, Amir Hadi (Executive Director of Mandiri) and Dobby Chew (Finance Director of Mandiri and Executive Director of HAYAT) were placed under travel bans, followed by the sudden freezing of their personal and organisational bank accounts, on 10 September 2026, under the Anti Money Laundering Act (AMLA) without prior questioning. This disrupted organisational operations, salaries, and programmes as well as basic personal spendings. They presented themselves voluntarily for questioning at Bukit Aman and submitted a memorandum demanding clarification. They were supported by a solidarity gathering involving many local CSOs and individuals. On 18 September 2026, the police raided the Mandiri-HAYAT shared office where the CSOs handed over various documents, a computer and pendrive (flashdrive). Four days later, both directors were arrested and remanded for three days, despite their ongoing cooperation with authorities.
The arbitrary freezing of bank accounts and weaponisation of AMLA creates a climate of fear and self-censorship across the civil society landscape. Organisations now face a dual-risk where taking international funding increases the likelihood of financial scrutiny and account freezes, while avoiding foreign funding leaves them struggling to sustain operations.