Malaysia’s Foreign and Defence Policies

Senior economist, The World Bank

Smita is based in the Malaysia  inclusive growth and sustainable finance  hub where she leads the programme on private sector development, innovation and entrepreneurship. Her expertise is in science, technology and innovation policy, skills development, business environment and competitiveness. She has led regional flagships publications in Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and Pacific and Africa on innovation and entrepreneurship issues and multi-sectoral operations of both development policy and investment policy instruments. Smita has also led policy dialogues on innovation and entrepreneurship in China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Datuk  Fadzli  Abdul  Wahit   
Chief strategy officer
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)   

 Fadzli  has more than 30  years’ experience advising government and semi-government clients in Malaysia on policy development, economic and feasibility study, strategy planning and advisory, corporate restructuring and corporatisation  and privatisation  of public utilities industries. He  was a former partner/executive director at KPMG  Malaysia and  has  led  projects related to IT, project management, strategy and  business process and human resources.

Fabian Bigar
CEO
Strategic Change Management Office (MyDigital)
Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department

SCMO’s mandate is to drive change management and ensure the delivery of the Malaysian Digital Economy Blueprint. The office also serves as the secretariat for the National Digital Economy and 4IR Council (MED4IRN). Fabian has served as undersecretary for policy and international relations in the Health Ministry; director of the Civil Service Delivery Unit in the PM’s Department; and director for the National Key Economic Area – healthcare – in the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu). During his stint in Pemandu, he was assigned to the Presidential Delivery Bureau, Republic of Tanzania.

Director and Senior Fellow
Humanitarian Agenda

Kurtzer is director and senior fellow with the Humanitarian Agenda, an initiative that leverages the expertise of the Center for Strategic & International Studies to explore humanitarian challenges. Previously, he served as head of public and congressional affairs for the Washington Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, representing the ICRC to a broad spectrum of audiences in the United States and Canada.

Commissioner
National Human Rights Commission Malaysia (SUHAKAM)

Joseph has been a human rights defender and trainer consultant at both local and international levels. He served as a member of various human rights organisations, including the Commonwealth Foundation, Asian South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education, Asia-Pacific NGO Steering Committee of World Conference against Racism. He is presently a board member and adviser of the Anti-racism and Non-Discrimination Programme of Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat, and was appointed as a Commissioner of SUHAKAM in June 2016 for the term 2016-2019.

Dr Rogers is senior lecturer with the Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya. He has also taught at the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College and the Malaysian Defence Armed Forces College. His area of specialisation includes political science, international relations and history (China and Central Asia). His research interests are government and politics of the Central Asian republics and human rights conditions in Xinjiang.

Senior director (research), ISIS Malaysia 

Meena is a researcher at the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme. Her research interests include political psychology, comparative regionalism, South Asian, Southeast Asian and European studies and domestic affairs, such as social welfare and gender-responsive policymaking. Meena is now a doctoral candidate at UM, focused on non-Western international relations.

Tashny is a senior analyst at the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme. Her research interests include domestic politics, labour migration, gender parity and equality, and the regional role and position of international human rights mechanisms. She is the founder of 50-50 Malaysia, a tool to connect policymakers, journalists and members of the public with female experts in, on or from Malaysia.

National vice women chief
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)

Sangetha is passionate about levelling the playing field for women and lifting the gender and race barriers in Malaysian politics. She founded Lead Up Malaysia, a social enterprise with the objective of upskilling and motivating B40 women and girls. She is the vice-chief of PKR Wanita.

Area director
Social Innovation Area
University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid

Salazar brings an extensive professional experience in government and international organisations. She began her career as a lawyer, a director-general of tourism and chief executive of the school of tourism of Spain’s Ministry of Economy. Her career continued as a law professor at Rey Juan Carlos University. In 2013, she moved to New York to serve as senior adviser to UN Women. A year later, she became the director of the Foundation Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid. Salazar has directed numerous development projects on capacity building, gender policies, governance, and economic empowerment of women. At present, Salazar is the general coordinator of the Spanish cooperation in Egypt, focusing on access to justice and the democratic transition of the country.

Zakri is the chairman of ATRI Advisory and pro-chancellor of Multimedia University in Malaysia, and was recently appointed chairman for Business Council for Sustainable Development Malaysia and INGSA Science Advice Network for Asean. He was the former science adviser to the prime minister and director of the Institute of Advanced Studies, United Nations University. He is the founding chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and former member of the UN secretary-general’s scientific advisory board. He sits on the global leadership council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; is a member of the Islamic Development Bank scientific advisory board and vice-chair of the Governing Council of the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries.

Salzman is the Donald Bren distinguished professor of environmental law with joint appointments at the UCLA School of Law and at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. In 12 books and more than 100 articles and book chapters, he has addressed topics, such as drinking water, trade and environment conflicts, ownership engineering, and creating markets for ecosystem services. Before entering academia, he worked in Paris in the environment directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and in London, as the European environmental manager for Johnson Wax.

Youth chairman, Malaysian Chinese Association

Wong is a politician serving as the national youth chairman and Federal Territory state liaison committee at MCA. She is the first female MCA Youth chair in its 63-year history. Wong joined MCA in 2001. She started her political career as acting director of the youth bureau of MCA women’s wing from 2008 to 2013 while working as personal assistant to a former deputy minister. When MCA youth’s wing was first opened to females in 2013, Wong was elected as vice-chairman. In the same year, she ran in the Seputeh parliamentary seat in GE13. In November 2018, she made history as the first female MCA Youth chief. Wong sits as a board member and director of the Human Resources Development Corporation.

Director, Sejahtera Centre, International Islamic University Malaysia 

Zainal is the director of Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity, International Islamic University Malaysia, while serving as an associate professor at the Department of Political Science, Kuliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science. His area of academic specialisation is international political economy and he has a strong interest in education for sustainable development. He has participated in several international workshops and conferences on the subject as both speaker and discussant. His current research interests are sustainability science, education for sustainable development and public policy analysis.

Primary care physician, Klinik Rakyat PJ

Subatra is a doctor with experience in anaesthesia and intensive care. Her MA in International Development Studies focused on barriers to maternal and child healthcare access in migrant populations. At present, she runs a primary care women’s clinic focusing on sexual and reproductive health in Petaling Jaya. She has worked at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok, where she focused on the 20-year review of the ICPD programme of action. She was the vice-resident of AWAM (2018-2020) and cureently the President of the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia. 

Lead economist, The World Bank

Apurva is the lead economist for the Russian Federation, based in Moscow. Apurva led the economic growth cluster of the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department when he was based in Washington. His comment pieces have appeared in Financial Times; The Economist; Project Syndicate, and popular blogs, such as the World Bank’s and Brookings. Apurva is also a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Extreme Events and was the team leader for the joint World Bank–UN flagship project on the economics of disasters. 

Senior researcher, ISIS Malaysia  

Tengku Qistina focuses on women and gender issues. She writes on domestic violence, women’s policies and women’s empowerment and is inspired by her voluntary work in Kelantan, where she develops programmes for her family’s foundation. Her social work has also exposed her to the vast rural-urban divide and women’s role and vulnerability. She has written extensively on the subject in her New Straits Times column since 2016. She is also founder of the Network of Women in Foreign Affairs and Security (WISEA) in Malaysia. 

Founder and executive director, Asian Trade Centre

Co-founder and education director, UNDI18

Qyira is the co-founder and education director of #Undi18, a grassroots movement spearheaded by a group of young people who lobbied successfully the government to amend Article 119(1) of the constitution to reduce the minimum voting age in Malaysia from 21 to 18. Qyira is a fellow at the Institut Für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) and a democracy discourse fellow at the De La Salle University. She was recently listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work in social impact. With #Undi18, she leads the voter education initiatives by creating workshop modules and content to ensure that by GE15, Malaysian youth are prepared to vote. Some of the programmes and initiatives include Parlimen Digital, Seeds for Democracy and Youth Defence Summit 

Regional head, Group Economics and Market Analysis, CIMB

Intan is the regional head, Group Economics and Market Analysis, CIMB Bank. She was previously the CEO of PNB Research Institute, associate director of economics at the Malaysian Aviation Commission and deputy director of research at Khazanah Research Institute. Nadia has 17 years’ experience in macroeconomics research and in developing comprehensive economic development policies, strategies, and plans in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

Climate Consultant 
UNICEF 

Senior fellow, ISIS Malaysia

Denison holds a PhD in sociology from Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom and was a Chevening scholar. He is the head of the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG). He is also a member of the Shared Prosperity Action Council, National Unity Advisory Council, National Science Council, EPU poverty circle and SDG national steering council. 

Batang Lupar MP; APPGM-SDG chairman  

Rohani is the MP for the Batang Lupar constituency in Sarawak, representing the United Traditional Bumiputera Party (PBB). In 2013, she served as women, family and community development minister, and has also served as deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister and deputy domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism minister. As MP, she is known for her friendly personality in the Batang Lupar area. She was elected chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG) in August 2020 and is a member of the Special Independent Committee on Emergency 2021. 

Senior analyst, ISIS Malaysia 

Cheng is a senior analyst in the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. His primary research interests include economic growth and development, international trade and social assistance. Some of his recent work focused on the unequal labour market impacts of the Covid-19 crisis in Malaysia and the economic responses to the pandemic. He has also covered topics, such as the impacts of the US-China trade conflict on the region and the design of cash-transfer programmes like Malaysia’s BSH/BR1M. His work has appeared in international and domestic publications and he is regularly featured in various media outlets.

Broadcast journalist, Astro Awani

Saraya writes and reads news for Astro Awani’s Awani Tonight. She covers current affairs and is passionate about the environment and wildlife, women, children, youth empowerment and education. Saraya reaches the youth through educational and entertainment content created on TikTok and Instagram, as she is a believer in youth power to push for change.

Petaling Jaya MP; APPGM-SDG vice-chairman

Maria has worked for women’s rights for more than 30 years and played a key role in lobbying for the Domestic Violence Act 1994 and laws related to violence against women. As the former executive director of Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower), she worked with marginalised communities, such as low-income women and indigenous communities. A strong advocate for electoral and institutional reforms, she led the Bersih 4 and Bersih 5 rallies for free and fair elections. Just before Bersih 5 in 2016, the former Bersih 2.0 chairman was detained without trial under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 for 11 days in solitary confinement. In 2018, Maria won the Petaling Jaya seat. As an MP, she continues to advocate for a life of dignity for all Malaysians. 

Chief digital business officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation

Aiza brings more than 20 years’ experience and expertise to strengthen MDEC’s resolve to lead Malaysia’s digital economy forward. She oversees and steers the digital adoption ecosystem in e-commerce, business digital adoption, data ecosystem development and digital infrastructure. Aiza also leads external innovation opportunities to expand commercial strategies and build corporate business and innovations for MDEC. 

Senior economist, Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia

Chen holds a PhD in international economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. His research interests include international trade and development, digital economy and Asian regionalism. He advises governments, international organisations, and the private sector on development issues related to digitalisation and regional integration. 

Dr Juita Mohamad
Indo Pacific Fellow
Perth USAsia Centre

Principal assistant director
Cyber Integration Legal Division, National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA) 

Azleyna’s division is responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans to enhance Malaysia’s cyber laws to address current and emerging threats, and to enhance the capacity and capability of cybercrime enforcement.  Azleyna was a former deputy director at the Network Security Management Department, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). She is currently chairman of the Malaysia Working Group on Information Security Management Systems WG/G/5-1, organised as a mirror committee to the international ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27 WG1 committee.  

National Cyber Security Principal
Telstra Australia

Stockwell leads Telstra’s national cyber security team, covering cyber policy, strategic intelligence, critical infrastructure regulation, agency engagement and nationally significant cyber initiatives. Before joining Telstra, she was director of cybercrime intelligence in the Australian Cyber Security Centre. Leveraging on her deep understanding of cyber attacker motivations and capabilities, she helps senior executives apply a national security lens to their risk programmes and advises the government on maximising industry capabilities to keep the nation cyber safe. She is a board director of the Australian Women in Security Network and a member of RMIT’s industry advisory board on cyber. 

Fellow
International Cyber Policy Centre
Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Rajiv has worked in the cyber, intelligence and security business for more than 20 years, over which time he has seen the internet evolve from an academic curiosity to today’s hyperconnected world. He now leads his own consulting business, MDR Security, providing advisory services to government and businesses to grow capacity and capability through building partnerships. Rajiv’s experience spans a broad range of business and technical domains, with roles in business analysis, technical architecture, programme delivery, operational management, strategy, business transformation, client relationship management and more. He is based in Canberra, Australia. 

Freelance journalist;
Consultant, Tech Research Asia;
Owner, InSight Editorial Services

Yapp first cut his teeth as a cellular radio frequency optimisation engineer in one of Malaysia’s largest telcos 25 years ago. After more than five years, he became a tech reporter at The Star In.Tech, where he won several awards for best online technology reporting. Yapp left to start his own editorial consultancy 15 years ago and five years ago, became a freelance executive consultant at Tech Research Asia, based in Australia. He is also a freelance journalist for international publications, such as IDG, Computer Weekly, Forbes Asia and Digital News Asia. 

Cyber affairs and Critical technologies
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
Australia

Feakin is Australia’s inaugural ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology. He commenced as ambassador for cyber affairs in January 2017, before having the mandate expanded to reflect the central role that technology issues have in geopolitics. He leads Australia’s international engagement to advance and protect national security, foreign policy, economic and trade, and development interests in cyberspace and critical technology. Feakin was a member of the independent panel of experts that produced the 2016 cyber security strategy. Following that, he led the creation of the international cyber engagement strategy. 

Independent broadcast journalist and gender activist

Tehmina has more than eight years of live breaking news and current affairs programming experience. Most recently, she has anchored Money Matters, TV3 Malaysia’s flagship financial talk show. She was with Bernama from 2014-2020, anchoring and producing special projects and annual highlights like the national budget and election coverage. She also anchored and produced Tea with Tehmina, Bernama Today and The Nation, focusing on topics of national and regional current affairs. Tehmina is a Thomson Reuters Foundation fellow and TedX Malaysia alumni. She is a versatile and experienced moderator of high-level debates and conferences on a wide range of subjects ranging from business to economy, technology, politics, women’s rights, sustainable development and media freedom. 

CEO, Social & Economic Research Initiative

Helmy is a consultant respiratory physician who heads the Lung Centre at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Previously, as an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, he co-founded Asthma Malaysia and is actively involved in national tobacco control policy work. One of 20 recipients worldwide of the Young Physician Leader award in 2015, Helmy is also the CEO of the Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI), a think-tank that looks into the rising inequality from the intersection of technology and society. 

Chief executive, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy

Azrul worked as a health development programme specialist for more than 19 years on issues related to social welfare, public health, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, gender-based violence and humanitarian assistance. He has served at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS); International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Unicef and Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC). He is a writer and was a columnist at the Malay Mail and China Press. Azrul is currently a board member of the Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) based in Malaysia. 

Visiting fellow, ISIS Malaysia

Khor is a physician with international experience in the public, private, non-profit and think-tank sectors. Currently, he specialises in health systems and policies and global health, holding fellowships at Chatham House, the United Nations University (UNU-IIGH) and ISIS Malaysia. Previously, he held senior practitioner roles in clinical medicine, refugee and disaster relief, clinical research, and pharma anti-corruption. He holds postgraduate degrees in internal medicine, public health and public policy. 

Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya 

Adeeba is the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and an adjunct associate professor at Yale University, US. Her research effort focuses on the intersection of HIV and substance use for which she has played several leading national, regional and international roles. She is a member of the World Health Organisation panel on health science and technology policy, president-elect of the International AIDS Society and a member of the UNAIDS panel on HIV. She played a key role in the establishment and remains actively involved in a regional HIV research network initiative – TREAT Asia. She was the recipient of the Tun Mahathir Science and Merdeka awards and the first recipient of the Australian Advance Global Award in the category of alumni in 2012. 

Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)
Malaysia

Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah is the foreign minister and member of parliament for Indera Mahkota. He previously served as the communications and multimedia minister, and deputy higher education minister. Saifuddin is a progressive politician who advocates new politics, youth empowerment and social entrepreneurship, while also actively promoting debate and basketball. He is the founder of the Women National Basketball League and co-founder of the Royal Malaysian Intervarsity Debating Championship. Saifuddin has served as president of the Malaysian Youth Council, member of the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Youth Employment, consultant of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and joint-secretary of the Bosnia Action Front. He was also a passionate student activist.

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff is principal fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA). He is currently on secondment as deputy director general of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) at the prime minister’s department.

He has served as director general of the National Integrity and Good Governance Department (JITN), and president and chief executive officer of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (INTEGRITI).

Before joining KITA, Datuk Dr Anis had also spent more than ten years at the UNDP as well as at the United Nations Volunteers headquarters in Bonn, Germany from 1994-2005. He was a member of the election reform committee, and the investigation committee on governance, procurement and financial procedures.

Chief Executive
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia
Malaysia

Herizal Hazri is chief executive of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and is responsible for determining the Institute’s strategic direction, including designing its research and engagement programmes, building its research and policy development capabilities, and developing and managing relationships with the Government of Malaysia, private sector, civil society organisations, diplomatic community and other think-tanks in the region and beyond.  

Herizal also leads the Institute’s Track Two diplomacy through the Asean Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (Asean-ISIS), Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. 

Brad GLOSSERMAN is Deputy Director of and Visiting Professor at the Center for Rule-making Strategies, Tama University. He is also a Senior Adviser (nonresident) at Pacific Forum, in Honolulu Hi, where he served for 13 years (2004-2017) as executive director. Brad is author of Peak Japan: The End of Grand Ambitions (Georgetown University Press, 2019; a Korean edition was released in 2020 by Korean Copyright Center) and co-author (with Scott Snyder) of The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash (Columbia University Press 2015). He is the editor, with Tae-hyo Kim, of The Future of U.S.-Korea-Japan Relations: Balancing Values and Interests (CSIS, 2004). He was for 10 years a member of the editorial board of The Japan Times and continues to serve as a contributing editor. He writes a weekly column on foreign policy and international affairs for the paper. He has a JD from the George Washington University National Law Center, an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA from Reed College.

Koga is assistant professor at the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His current research focuses on Indo-Pacific security, including the transformation of US-bilateral security networks and Asean-led institutions.

He has published on topics that include East Asian security, US and Japanese foreign policies, the US-Japan alliance, and Asean. His recent publication includes a book Reinventing Regional Security Institutions in Asia and Africa (Routledge, 2017).

His current book project is Managing Great Power Politics: Asean, Institutional Strategy, and South China Sea.

Nguyen is vice-president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) and director-general of the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. Prior to his current designation, Nguyen was deputy director-general of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the DAV. His research focused on major powers relations, regional security governance, maritime security and Vietnam’s foreign policy.  

Nguyen also served as minister counsellor of the Vietnam Embassy in Ottawa, Canada (2015-2018) and second secretary of the Vietnam Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden (2004-2006).  

He also served at the Asean department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which period he extensively participated in regional summits, and had hands-on experience on many regional processes and issues involving Asean. 

Amador is interim president of the Foundation for the National Interest, a new Philippine think-tank that focuses on strategic and security issues.  

He is also the founder of the Philippine Strategic Forum, a website dedicated to strategic and international issues from a Philippine perspective. Amador was a civil servant for more than a decade and worked on foreign affairs and national security issues.  

His most recent publication is the co-authored monograph titled Reviewing Philippine-US Bilateral Defence Relations: The Legal, Military, and Diplomacy Perspectives. He is an active participant in Track 1.5 and Track 2 diplomatic processes on regional security issues. 

Dewi is a member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI), research professor at the Centre for Political Studies-Indonesian Institute of Sciences (P2P-LIPI) and chairman of the board of directors of The Habibie Centre. She served as deputy secretary to the vice-president of Indonesia from 2010-2017.

She was a distinguished visiting professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in 2017-2018, and at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University in 2007.

She has written widely on Indonesia’s foreign policy, and Asean regional political and security issues. Dewi sits on a number of national and international advisory boards, including the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 2010-2020.

Channer is the senior policy fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Based in Canberra, she produces analysis on foreign and defence policy in the Indo-Pacific, engages with key Australian government agencies, and builds and sustains the centre’s domestic and international network.  

 She is a 2021-22 Fulbright scholar and visiting fellow with the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. She has led a diverse career across politics, government, think-tanks and the not-for-profit sector. 

IT Specialist
DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Mourtos is an IT specialist (INFOSEC) with the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Previously, he was with the National Cybersecurity Assessments and Technical Services (NCATS) team. He now serves as an adviser to the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA.

Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia

Lee is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently first assistant secretary of the multilateral policy division. He has previously served overseas as head of mission in Bangladesh, deputy head of mission in Jakarta, and in Port Moresby. Lee holds a PhD in development studies and a BA (Hons) in jurisprudence from Adelaide University, and a graduate diploma in foreign affairs and trade from Monash University.

Visiting Fellow
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia;
Associate Fellow, Chatham House
The United Kingdom

Khor Swee Kheng is a Malaysian physician with international experience in the public, private, non-profit and think-tank sectors. Currently, he specialises in health systems and policies and global health, holding fellowships at Chatham House, the United Nations University (UNU-IIGH) and ISIS Malaysia. Previously, he held progressively senior practitioner roles in clinical medicine, refugee and disaster relief, clinical research, and pharma anti-corruption. In these roles, he was based in Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai and Paris, covering more than 90 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He holds postgraduate degrees in internal medicine (Royal College of Physicians), public health (Berkeley) and public policy (Oxford), and is published in international media, think-tanks and academic journals.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia

Ouyang is ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Malaysia. He arrived in Malaysia in December 2020. He previously served as director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee (2017-2020), deputy director-general and subsequently director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs (2009-2017). Born in 1965, Ouyang has held various positions in the Department of Treaty and Law, including as counsellor.

Director-General
World Health Organisation (WHO)
Geneva

Tedros was elected director-general of the World Health Organisation in May 2017. He was the first director-general elected from among multiple candidates by the World Health Assembly and was the first person from the African region to head the world’s leading public health agency. Tedros has held many leadership positions in global health, including as chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Board. 

Professor and Director
Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand
Thailand

Thitinan is professor and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. He has authored a range of articles, books, chapters and more than 1,000 op-eds in international and local media. Thitinan regularly provides briefings to investors, business conferences, diplomatic missions, and corporate boards on the domestic politics and geopolitics of Thailand and ASEAN. In March 2018, he was appointed ASEAN@50 fellow and in May 2019, he was selected as Australia-ASEAN fellow at Sydney’s Lowy Institute. Thitinan has held visiting positions at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Stanford University, Yangon University and University of Tubingen in Germany.

Vice Chair
Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) China
People’s Republic of China

Born in December 1952, Qian Lihua joined the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in February 1969. He has served in various roles, including soldier, cadet, interpreter, staff officer, deputy director-general, director-general of bureau, deputy chief and chief of the Foreign Affairs Office. He was promoted to major general in 2004. Having graduated from the Beijing Foreign Studies University, Defence Language Institute (UK), University of Birmingham (UK), and PLA National Defence University, he is currently vice-chair of the Chinese CSCAP national committee and vice-president of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

Associate Research Fellow
China Institute of International Studies (CIIS)
People’s Republic of China

Xu Longdi has been with the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) since 2009. He is an associate research fellow who specialises in international relations theory, international security, and EU politics and foreign policy. He received his PhD in international relations from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2009, MA in international relations from East China Normal University in 2006, and BA from Nanjing International Studies University in 1999.

European Union Ambassador to ASEAN
Jakarta

Driesmans has served as the EU ambassador to Asean since 2019. He was previously a member of the cabinet of Federica Mogherini, high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy/vice‐president of the European Commission. His responsibilities included Asia-Pacific, cultural diplomacy, transport and fisheries. He previously served as principal assistant to the COO of the European External Action Service (2014), desk officer for Asean (2013‐2014), and deputy head of the political, economic, trade and information section of the EU Delegation to South Africa (2009‐2013). Driesmans has been an official of the EU since 2003.

Head of Delegation in Myanmar
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Before his appointment as ICRC resident representative in Myanmar in August 2018, Sakalian was based at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva. Between September 2015 and June 2018, he held the position of operations coordinator for the Americas, with a special focus on activities in the United States, Mexico, Central America, Haiti and Cuba and later, regional director for the Americas in charge of operations and humanitarian diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere. Prior to Geneva, he headed the ICRC project on armed violence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, headed the sub-delegation in Nyala, Sudan and acted as adviser for multilateral affairs in Asia-Pacific based in Malaysia. 

Professor, Department of Political Science
University of the Philippines-Diliman;
Fellow, Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation (APPFI)
The Philippines

Kraft is a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City. He has been working on issues that involve Asean, regional security in Southeast Asia, security sector reform, and intra-state conflict in the Philippines. His latest publications include Great Power Dynamics and the Waning of Asean Centrality in Regional Security (2017); Philippine Foreign Policy in a Changed Strategic Environment: The Duterte Administration and China (2018); Asean and the Protection of Migrant Rights (2019); and Korea’s New Southern Policy, Asean, and the Philippines: Middle Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia (2020). 

Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Indonesia

Rizal is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. Previously, he was Indonesia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), London, from 2016 to 2020. He joined CSIS in 1990 as a researcher and assumed the role of executive director in 2009 until 2015. He has worked extensively on such issues as Southeast Asian security, ASEAN, Indonesia’s defence and foreign policy, military reform, Islam and politics, and domestic political changes in Indonesia. He was the first Indonesian to receive the Nakasone Award in July 2005 and named as one the 100 Global Thinkers in 2009 by Foreign Policy magazine.

Nguyen is associate professor of political science at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) and also deputy director-general of the DAV East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. Nguyen holds a PhD in politics from the University of New South Wales and was the counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (New York) from 2016 to 2019. His research interests include international relations in the Indo-Pacific, security and maritime issues in Southeast Asia, and foreign policy of Vietnam.

Group Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
Axiata Group Berhad
Malaysia

Abid Adam is the Axiata Group chief risk & compliance officer (GCRCO), responsible for providing strategic direction, implementation, oversight and guidance for cybersecurity, data privacy, enterprise risk management, and compliance/ethics across Southeast Asia. Before joining Axiata, Adam led cybersecurity function and implemented transformational programmes for a large multi-national financial services organisation spanning across Africa, Asia and Latin. Adam also serves at the World Economic Forum Digital Asean initiative and is a member of leading global institutions, such as ISC2 and ISACA, and sits on customer advisory boards and community forums of leading organisations.

Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia;
Director, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
United States of America

Gregory B Poling is a senior fellow for Southeast Asia and director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at CSIS. He oversees research on US foreign policy in Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on the maritime domain and the countries of Southeast Asia. His research interests include the South China Sea disputes, democratisation in Southeast Asia and Asian multilateralism. Poling’s writings have been featured in Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Nikkei Asian Review and Foreign Policy, among others. He is the author or co-author of multiple works, including The Thickening Web of Asian Security Cooperation: Deepening Defence Ties among US Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific and Building a More Robust US-Philippines Alliance.

Editor-at-Large, Nikkei Asian Review;
Senior Fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand
Thailand

Gwen Robinson is a senior fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, specialising in regional security and economic issues with a focus on Myanmar. She is also editor-at-large at Nikkei Asian Review, a journal of Asian affairs. She was previously a correspondent and editor with Financial Times in Europe, America and Asia (1995-2013), covering Southeast Asia in 2011-14.

Professor of International Relations;
Head of Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Singapore

Mely Caballero-Anthony is professor of international relations and president’s chair for international relations and security studies. She is also head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. She teaches courses on non-traditional security in Asia and security governance and has served as the secretary-general of the Consortium on Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia since 2008. Her research interests include regionalism and multilateralism in Asia-Pacific, global governance, human security and non-traditional security, nuclear security and conflict prevention. Her latest books include Negotiating Governance on Non-Traditional Security in Southeast Asia and Beyond, An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies and Asia on the Move: Regional Migration and the Role of Civil Society.

Richard Maude is executive director of policy at Asia Society Australia and senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. He has more than 30 years’ experience in foreign policy and national security. From 2018 to 2019, Maude was deputy secretary, Indo-Pacific Group, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s senior official to the East Asia Summit. In 2017, he headed the task force on the preparation of the government’s 2017 foreign policy white paper. Maude was director-general of the Office of National Assessments from May 2013 until November 2016 and has served as the senior adviser on foreign policy and national security issues to former prime minister Julia Gillard.

Asyura Salleh is the co-founder of the Global Awareness & Impact Alliance (GAIA). She is also a non-resident Vasey research fellow for the Pacific Forum, and the special adviser on maritime security for the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Affairs (YCAPS). Her policy experience lies in her work for the UNODC global maritime crime programme, Stable Seas and Brunei Prime Minister’s Office. Asyura’s research interest lies in maritime security in the Asia-Pacific, with a focus on transnational maritime crime and maritime governance. She holds a master’s in war studies from King’s College London and earned a doctorate in international relations from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

Executive Director
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP)
Cambodia

Sothirak has been the executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace since June 2013. As of February 2014, he also served as advisor to the government. He was appointed as secretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from September 2013 to January 2014, ambassador to Japan between 2005 and 2008, served as MP in 1993 and 2003, and minister of industry mines and energy from 1993 to 1998. Sothirak was the visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore from 2009 to 2012. He has written extensively on various issues confronting the development of Cambodia and the region.

Director, Centre for Strategic Studies;
Professor, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations
Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand

David Capie is professor of international relations and director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research interests focus on conflict and security issues, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, and New Zealand’s foreign and defence policy. David has held visiting positions at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and at LUIS Guido Carli in Rome. He is currently regional co-chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) and was a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons Group from 2012 to 2019. 

Head
Department of International Relations
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Indonesia

Shafiah is the head of Department of International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. She was a senior fellow at the maritime security programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Singapore from January to December 2017. She has done and taken part in extensive research projects on politics and regional security in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific since 2000. She has special interest in issues of regional security in East Asia, maritime security, Indonesia’s foreign policy and regional cooperation. She was the chief editor of The Indonesian Quarterly, an academic journal published by CSIS, from 2013 to 2016. 

Public Policy Manager
Google
Singapore

Bauer is Google’s head of public policy for Malaysia and South Asia (excluding India). He leads Google’s work with policymakers, government officials and key political stakeholders in those countries. Before starting his current role in October 2017, Bauer spent three years working in Google’s Washington, DC office. He also previously worked on president Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and as a paralegal at a law firm representing political candidates and parties.

Deputy Director of Research
Khazanah Research Institute (KRI)
Malaysia

Sarena is a deputy director of research at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). She has a PhD in plant sciences from the University of Oxford. Her PhD used genetic technologies to understand disease control affecting the globally important crop: rice. Due to her interests in agriculture and food security, Sarena is currently conducting policy research at KRI related to food security and agriculture.

Graduate School of Law and Politics
Kobe University
Japan

Tosh Minohara is professor of international relations and security studies at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Kobe University. He is the founder and chairman of the non-profit organisation, Research Institute of Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA). He currently serves as a senior adviser to the international media consulting firm KREAB. His core academic interests deal with the diplomatic, political and security dimension of US-Japan relations. Minohara is the author and editor of multiple monographs, volumes and articles, including op-eds with the official LDP newspaper, Jiyuminshu, as well as Sankei Shimbun. He is the recipient of the Shimizu Hiroshi Prize (2002) and the Japan Research Award (2019).

Chairman
Singapore Institute of International Affairs
Singapore

Simon SC Tay is a public intellectual and adviser to major corporations and policymakers. He is currently chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, a globally ranked think-tank; associate professor at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law; senior consultant with WongPartnership, a leading regional law firm; and ambassador for Singapore. He has taught at Harvard Law School and Yale University, served on boards for leading global companies, including MUFG Bank of Japan, Toyota Japan and Deutsche Boerse (Asia), and corporate adviser to Temasek Holdings. He has also served Singapore as chairman of the National Environment Agency and nominated MP.

Assistant Director
Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Branch
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australia

Working for the ambassador for cyber affairs, Whitworth focuses on multilateral cyber policy, particularly Australia’s engagement in UN processes on international law and norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. She served as Australia’s lead negotiator for a protocol to the Budapest convention on cybercrime to provide transborder access to data, and as the cybercrime expert to the UN. Her previous experience at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and Department of Home Affairs focused on cybercrime law reform, telecommunications security policy and combatting online child exploitation. Whitworth holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Technology Sydney and a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.

President
National Institute for South China Sea Studies
People’s Republic of China

Wu Shicun is president and senior research fellow of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies. He also serves as chairman of board of directors of the China-Southeast Asia Research Centre on the South China Sea, chairman of the advisory board of Institute for China-America Studies, vice-president of the China Institute for Free Trade Ports Studies, deputy director of the Collaborative Innovation Centre of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, and adjunct professor of Nanjing University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research interests cover the history and geography of the South China Sea, maritime delimitation, maritime economy, international relations and regional security strategy.

Senior Lecturer
Centre for Defence and Security Studies
Massey University
New Zealand

Anna Powles is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. She specialises in geopolitical and security issues in the Pacific region and her current research examines New Zealand foreign and security policy in the Pacific; the Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific; non-state security actors and security cooperation in the Pacific; and foreign interference in the Pacific. Powles is an associate scholar with the MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, and has previously held visiting fellowships with the East-West Centre in Honolulu.

Director General
International Vaccine Institute
Republic of Korea

Jerome Kim, MD, is an international expert on the evaluation and development of vaccines and is the director-general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver safe, effective and affordable vaccines for global health. IVI’s oral cholera vaccine is used around the world to prevent this deadly diarrhoeal disease. Its typhoid conjugate vaccine, tech-transferred to SK bioscience and PT Bio Farma, is completing phase III testing. Dr Kim is also an adjunct professor, Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University and at the Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University. He has authored more than 300 publications.

Ms. Ivy Kwek is the Research Director for Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), a progressive, not-for-profit think-tank in Malaysia; and concurrently a Visiting Scholar at the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, National ChengChi University of Taiwan. Prior to this, she was the Special Functions Officer to the Deputy Minister of Defence of Malaysia (2018-2020), during which she  was involved in the drafting of the first Malaysian Defence White Paper. She also has experience working in various policy advisory and governmental affairs roles for international organizations and in diplomatic circle, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and in the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.  

Ivy holds a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London and was an alumna of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program by the US Department of State. She is also a co-founder of Projek Pertiwi, a blog dedicated to raising awareness on defence and security issues among Malaysian youth, and have frequently commented and published on current affairs on various international and local media outlets. 

Dr Satu Limaye is Vice-President of the East West Center (EWC), serving concurrently as Director EWC in Washington and theAsia Matters for America initiative. He is Founding Editor of theAsia Pacific Bulletin. He is also Senior Advisor, Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) and Senior Fellow on Asia History and Policy at the Foreign Policy Institute at Paul H.Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS). 

He is a graduate of Georgetown University and received his doctorate from Oxford University (Magdalen College) as a George C. Marshall Scholar. He publishes and speaks widely on Asia-Pacific regional issues and supports various US government, foundation, fellowship and professional organizations. Among his current affiliations are the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) Advisory Council and The Asia Foundation Task Force on US-Southeast Asia Relations. 

Ms Kendra Rinas has served as chief of mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kuala Lumpur from May 2018. She has over 15 years of experience working with refugees and migrants, managing migration initiatives including labour migration, refugee resettlement, health assessments, counter trafficking and anti-smuggling, and partnering with governments and NGOs on promoting well-managed migration.

Rinas previously served as head of IOM’s sub-office in Damak and head of refugee resettlement for South Asia, also based in Nepal.

Prior to joining IOM, she was operations coordinator with the Resettlement Support Center Africa, based in Kenya; country coordinator in N’djamena, Chad; and processing supervisor in Accra, Ghana. Rinas obtained her MS in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University School of Business, and BA in Political Science and Religion from Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, Minnesota.

Shahriman Lockman is a Director in the Chief Executive’s Office of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. His research interests include Malaysian foreign and defence policies, Southeast Asian maritime security affairs, and Malaysia-China relations, including in the context of the South China Sea. He also manages the institute’s China Engagement Initiative, which promotes Track 2 dialogue between Malaysia and China. Shahriman was a consultant to the Ministry of Defence on Malaysia’s inaugural Defence White Paper (2019), specifically on budgeting and implementation issues. He was also Malaysia’s representative in an academic assessment of common security challenges impacting the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) nations for the period 2020-2031 for the FPDA Policy Group (FPG). Shahriman is a member of the Malaysian chapter of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). He has a Master of Strategic Affairs from the Australian National University.

Ms Angeline Tan is a Researcher in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme in ISIS Malaysia. Her research interests include Chinese Foreign Policy, the Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia, Sino-Japanese relations, and the geopolitics of Climate Change. She graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Masters in International Relations. She completed her Bachelors in International Relations from the War Studies Department in King’s College London.

Barney has a legal background and practiced commercial law for six years before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2001.  During his time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade he has worked on a wide range of issues, from trade negotiations to climate change and international law.  Previous appointments include postings to the New Zealand embassies in Tehran and Geneva, and Ambassador to Egypt in 2014-2018 (where he was also non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, and New Zealand Representative to Palestine).

Barney is currently a Lead Negotiator in the MFAT’s Trade and Economic Group, responsible for New Zealand’s trade negotiations with China, as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).  His previous role in Wellington was the Manager of the Trade Law Unit in the Ministry’s Legal Division.  The Trade Law Unit provides legal support in trade negotiations, advice about the consistency of New Zealand policy with our international trade law obligations, and leads New Zealand efforts to resolve trade disputes through international dispute settlement processes. 

Barney attended the University of Otago in New Zealand where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws with Honours, and completed his Professional Legal Studies in Wellington where he was admitted to the Bar in 1995.

Dr Narongchai, a Thai economist / technocrat, is known for his continuous involvement in the economic development of Thailand in many capacities, and in ASEAN and APEC affairs. He had previously served in the Thai government, including as Advisor to several Thai prime ministers, Minister of Energy, Minister of Commerce, as well as Senator and a member of the National Legislative Assembly. He has worked on ASEAN and APEC affairs all along, being an initiator of AFTA and the APEC Leaders Meeting. He has also served as Chairman of the Thailand Committee for PECC. Dr Narongchai is on the board of several publicly listed companies in Thailand, and was also Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand. Having graduated with a PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, Dr Narongchai has a keen interest in education and research. He is the founding member of Thailand Development Research Institute and is Chairman of the Khon Kaen University Council.

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali is Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI). In his previous portfolio as Minister of Economic Affairs (May 2018-February 2020), Azmin was instrumental in introducing the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. He oversaw a broad spectrum of agencies including those directly involved in infrastructure, wealth creation and redistribution, private equity ownership and the short as well as mid-term economic planning and implementation of the country’s socio-economic development. During his tenure as Chief Minister of Selangor (2014-2018), he was instrumental in placing Selangor more prominently on the regional map after having maintained the state as the biggest contributor to the national GDP. Azmin is a member of the Economic Action Council (EAC) and is also on the Board of Directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Education and Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Shanti Jagannathan is Principal Education Specialist in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB). She works on ADB education sector policies and strategies, and provides technical advice to ADB’s lending and non-lending education operations in the Asia and Pacific region. Shanti has over 25 years of experience with education sector transformation initiatives and reforms in school education, technical and vocational education, and training and higher education in Asia. She has led policy research studies on skills for greening economies, Asia’s knowledge-based economies, innovation and implications of industry 4.0 on education and training, among others. Shanti has contributed to international cooperation in education at policy and operational levels, and has been on advisory bodies, steering committees and working groups on education development, gender equality, elimination of child labour, democracy and human rights, and scholarships for underprivileged students.

Mohammad Manzur Rahman is the founding director for Marketing and Innovation at Aspirasi, a fintech specialising in micro-financing and micro-insurance, a subsidiary of the regional leader Axiata Group. Manzur has spent over a decade in the mobile telecom industry as well as in the government sector, leading design, implementation and deployment of digital financial services, brands and solutions across various countries in Asia. He is also a business graduate from NSU and has attended executive education programmes at London Business School, INSEAD and IMD. Manzur is currently based in Washington, DC.

Sharifah Najwa Syed Abu Bakar is Chief Officer of Knowledge Management and Strategy Division, SME Corporation Malaysia, a central coordination agency for SME development under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC). Her current role includes working closely with local and international stakeholders in analysing and formulating SME development policies, as well as coordinating SME development across government ministries, agencies, the private sector and various regional and international platforms, such as ASEAN, APEC, UN, OECD, and OIC, among others. She has extensive experience in various international trade negotiations. She is Lead Negotiator for Malaysia for Economic and Technical Cooperation as well as the SME Working Committee for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). She is also involved in designing various developmental programmes to facilitate internationalisation of SMEs in Malaysia and the region. She has been working in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in carrying out the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP).

Dr Naoko Iwasaki is Professor at the Institute of e-Government in Waseda University, President of International Academy of CIO (IAC), and Deputy Director of APEC e-Government Research Center. Dr Iwasaki’s research areas are CIO, D-Government, ageing society and ICT, and smart digital city. She received her Master of International Relations and PhD of Global ICT from Waseda University. She has been project overseer of APEC project on “Smart Silver Innovation” since 2019, committee member of JANPEC since 2015, committee member on “Government Innovation” of MIC in 2015, and project director on “Silver Business Innovation” of METI in 2015. She served as Deputy Chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) on SDGs in 2018 and 2020. She was co-editor of A Decade of World e-Government Rankings (IOS Press, 2015), and received the “Jantima Memorial Award for Women CIO and ICT Leadership” in 2017.

Dr Peter Cowhey holds the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy, and is Dean of the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. An expert on the future of communications and information technology markets and policy, he specialises in US trade policy, foreign policy, the Internet and international corporate strategy. His two recent books are Digital DNA: Disruption and the Challenges for Global Governance and Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets: The Political Economy of Innovation. In the last year, Cowhey served as Chair of a bipartisan group of experts on technology, foreign policy and US-China relations. Previously, Cowhey was Chief of the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the Clinton administration. In 2009, he had a 12-month assignment as Senior Counselor to Ambassador Ron Kirk in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Cowhey is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr Jayant Menon is Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, following his early retirement from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he was Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist. He started work at Monash University on its original campus in Clayton, Melbourne. He has also worked at the University of Melbourne, Victoria University, ADB Institute in Tokyo and American University in Washington, DC. He holds adjunct appointments with the Australian National University, University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) and Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Malaysia. He has served on the Advisory Boards of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and University of Nottingham, Malaysia. He has authored/edited 15 books, 40 chapters in books and 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Andrew Kam graduated with a first class degree in Economics from National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 2002. He received the prestigious Chevening scholarship in 2006 to pursue his MSc in Economics at University of Warwick. In 2008, he was awarded the Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship to pursue his PhD in Asian Studies at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in University of California, Santa Barbara (2015/2016). He is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), and Associate Professor of Economics at UKM. He has served as a consultant to many national and international organisations – Malaysian Productivity Corporation, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, UNCTAD and UNESCO. He is currently working with the National Economic Recovery Council and helped drafted the COVID-19 National Economic Recovery Plan on Trade and Investment. 

Muhundhan Kamarapullai (or Muhu) has over 20 years of experience in the domains of digital transformation, entrepreneurship, education, healthcare and organisational capability development. At Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), he is Director of the Business Digital Adoption Division. He leads a team that looks into policies and initiatives to support traditional businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises’ (brick and mortar) move towards digitalisation.

Lu Guangtong is a researcher and engineer of Digital Economy Lab, Department of Information Policy, China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. He mainly engages in research on the Internet platform, digital service tax and international cooperation in the field of digital economy. He is the lead researcher of the digital service tax research project conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, and one of the key authors of the “Blue Book of Industry and Informatization: Annual Report on the Development of Digital Economy” (2018-2019 and 2019-2020). Lu also serves as Secretariat of the Chinese delegation to the G20 Digital Economy Task Force in 2020.

Elina Noor is Director of Political-Security Affairs and Deputy Director of Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington, DC. A native of Malaysia, Elina’s work focuses on security developments in Southeast Asia, global governance and technology, and preventing/countering violent extremism. Previously, Elina was Associate Professor at the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Prior to that, she was Director of Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. Between 2017 and 2019, Elina was a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. She was educated at Oxford University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Georgetown University.

Dr Kim Heungchong had served the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) for 19 years before he led the institute as President since June 2020. He has been deeply involved in the policymaking process of the Korean government in the fields of economic, trade and diplomatic policies. He was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in University of California, Berkeley, and has held visiting positions at Ifri (Paris), VUB (Brussels) and Marmara University (Istanbul). He is the President-elect of the European Studies Association of Korea for 2021. Dr Kim’s expertise includes trade policy, European studies and regional integration. He has published more than 70 papers and books, and has actively contributed to various newspapers and TV programmes in Korea and abroad. Before joining KIEP, Dr Kim was an Honorary Member of the High Table in Christ Church, Oxford. Dr Kim read economics at Seoul National University and University of Oxford.

Ambassador Su Ge was appointed as the PECC Co-Chair on 27 June 2018. Ambassador Su Ge is a senior diplomat and scholar. He has been President of China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Ambassador Su received his MA and PhD from Brigham Young University and was a Post-doctorate at Harvard University. He was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at Georgetown, John Hopkins and Washington Universities. Before joining CIIS in 2000, Ambassador Su was a professor at Foreign Affairs College and a doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University. Since 2003, he has served consecutively as Minister Counselor in Chinese Embassy in the USA, Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname and Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland.

Eugene Wong is CEO of Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA) Limited. He was recently Managing Director, Corporate Finance & Investments of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). His portfolio covered initial public offerings (IPOs), corporate bond and sukuk issuances, collective investment schemes and take-overs. He oversaw the SC’s ASEAN-related initiatives and was Chair of the Deputies of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG). In addition, he was Co-Chair of the ASEAN Working Committee on Capital Market Development (WC-CMD). Eugene was responsible for accounting related matters at the SC and was a Board Member of the Audit Oversight Board. He served as Advisor to the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board, and was previously a Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and Chairman of its Ethics Standards Board.

Datin Sunita Rajakumar is a professional independent director and strong advocate of the importance of governance in general and risk management in particular. She founded Climate Governance Malaysia, which is the country chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative. She is Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, promotes gender diversity on boards with the 30% Club, a member of the Global Advisory Board of Nottingham University’s School of Business as well as the Advisory Panel of the UN Global Compact Malaysia’s Sustainability Center of Excellence, and a workstream lead for the CEO Action Network, an industry-led initiative to increase sustainability and climate resilience. Besides, she is Chair of Caring Pharmacy and independent director of Bursa-listed Dutch Lady Milk Industries, MCIS Insurance (a member of the Sanlam group) and Zurich General Insurance, as well as trustee of five charitable foundations.

Dr Richard Cantor is Chair of the United States Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (USPECC). Cantor serves as Chief Credit Officer for Moody’s Corporation and Moody’s Investors Service, a position he has held since 2008. From 2009-2019, he also served as Moody’s Corporation’s Chief Risk Officer. Appointed by the US State Department in 2015, Cantor served a three-year term in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), during which he chaired ABAC’s Financial and Economic Working Group. Prior to joining Moody’s, Cantor held a variety of positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and was an adjunct professor at New York University’s and Columbia University’s business schools. He has also taught Economics at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and The Ohio State University. Cantor obtained his BA in English and Economics from Tufts University, and PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr Yose Rizal Damuri is one of the Co-Chairs for the Indonesian National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (INCPEC), and Head of the Department of Economics at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research activities focus on international trade, regional integration and globalisation of value chain. He is active in several research and advisory networks in Indonesia and East Asia, such as Indonesia Services Dialogue (ISD) and Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT). Yose also teaches International Economics courses at the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, his alma mater. He continued his studies at the National Centre for Development Studies, Australian National University and obtained his Master of Economics of Development. He received his PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI), Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr Kiki Verico is Deputy Director of the Institute for Economic and Social Research – Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI). He is a tenure track lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Department of Economics, FEB UI. Since 2020, he has served as an industry and international trade advisor to the Finance Minister of the Republic of Indonesia. Kiki obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics (Monetary) from University of Indonesia in 2000, International Masters in Regional Integration (IMRI) from University of Malaya and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (double degree) in 2005, and Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies (Regional Economic Integration) from Waseda University in 2013. He is the single author of a book entitled The Future of the ASEAN Economic Integration (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).

Dr Vo Tri Thanh is currently Senior Expert (former vice-president till October 2015) of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM). He holds a BSc from the Moscow State University, and a Master’s degree as well as a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University. Dr Vo mainly undertakes research and provides consultation on issues related to trade liberalisation and international economic integration and macroeconomic policies. His other areas of interests include institutional reforms, financial system and economic development.

Felix Weidenkaff works at the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations in Bangkok as Employment Specialist to provide technical advice on employment as part of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific (ILO DWT-Bangkok). Previously, Felix served in the Employment Policy Department of the ILO in Geneva, leading research, capacity building and advisory services on evidence-based policymaking, active labour market policies as well as partnerships for youth employment. Prior to joining the ILO in 2012, Felix worked in the Division on Investment and Enterprise of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Felix holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Tan Khee Giap is Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and Chairman of the Singapore National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dr Tan graduated with a PhD from University of East Anglia, Norwich, in 1987. He has consulted extensively with government ministries and statutory boards of Singapore, and served as a consultant to such international agencies as the Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute, United Nations Industrial Development Group, World Gold Council, ASEAN Secretariat, Central Policy Unit of Hong Kong, Kerzner International, Las Vegas Sands and Marina Bay Sands. Dr Tan is the lead author of more than 20 books and has published extensively in international refereed journals. His current research interests include econometric forecasting, cost of living and purchasing power index, global liveable cities index, ease of doing business index, and competitiveness analysis sub-national economies of China, India, Indonesia and ASEAN.

Ambassador Sergio Ley-Lopez is Chairman of the Mexico National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. He has served in various capacities with the Mexican Foreign Service since 1984: Cultural Counselor in Beijing (1984-1990); Deputy Chief of Mission in Singapore (1990-1993); Consul General in Shanghai (1993-1995); Director General for Pacific and Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-1997); and Ambassador to Indonesia (1997-2001) and China (2001-2007). He is currently Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Business Section in the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE). He is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), and Editorial Board Member in the International Affairs Committee for El Universal (a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City).

Dr Shiro Armstrong is a Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy. He is Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre, Editor of East Asia Forum, and Director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER) in the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University. He is also Visiting Associate Professor at Keio University, Research Associate with the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) at Columbia Business School, and Visiting Scholar at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Japan. He is the Australian representative on the Research Institutes Network (RIN) of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Vangelis Vitalis is Deputy Secretary of Trade and Economic at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is also Chair of the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) for New Zealand’s host year in 2021 and Chief Negotiator for the free trade agreement with the European Union (EU). Previously, Vangelis was the chief negotiator who concluded the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Before that, he led the conclusion of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Vangelis has also worked as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, and chaired (in his personal capacity) the OECD Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment (JWPTE) and the OECD Global Forum on the Environment and Climate Change. Prior to taking up his role in 2017, Vangelis served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the EU and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

Dr Richard Record is the Lead Economist for Malaysia in the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice. Based in Kuala Lumpur, he manages the Bank’s engagement on economic policy issues in Malaysia, including publication of the flagship Malaysia Economic Monitor and the report on Malaysia’s Digital Economy – A New Driver of Development. Richard has previously worked across a number of countries in the East Asia and Africa regions, managing programs on macroeconomics, trade and private sector development, including assignments based in Lilongwe, Vientiane and Hanoi. He holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in economics respectively from the London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Manchester.

Don Campbell serves as International Co-Chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and Chairman of the Canadian National Committee for PECC. He is Senior Strategy Advisor with DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. Don has an extensive background in the international arena in both the public and private sector. From 2000-2007, he was Group President at CAE Inc. His distinguished career with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade includes serving as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and G8 Sherpa (1997-2000), Canadian Ambassador for Japan (1993-1997), Deputy Minister of International Trade (1989-1993) and Canadian Ambassador to Korea (1984-1985). He is Distinguished Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation (APF) of Canada, serves on the Global Council of the Asia Society, New York, and is a member of the board of directors of the Japan Society, Canada. He serves on the board of directors of Toyota Canada Inc. as well as private company boards.