Syazwan is an Assistant Manager for Research under the Democracy and Governance Unit. His research areas include cost of politics, political financing, tax incentives for political donation, constituency development fund, and other areas.

At IDEAS, he spearheads a myriad of advocacy work, engaging with political parties, members of Parliament, CSOs, civil servants and experts fighting for a more democratic, transparent and accountable Malaysia. He is instrumental in establishing the Multi-Party Democracy Caucus (Kaukus Demokrasi Pelbagai Parti or KDPP), which is a unique grouping comprising nine state legislators from five different states across party lines, all united to advocate for institutional reforms at the state level. He was also part of the team that reviewed and drafted the APPG-Political Financing Bill. 

Previously, he worked for 10 years at Bank Negara Malaysia, contributing to the enactment of the Currency Act 2020 as well as doing strategic planning and communications work at the central bank. He graduated with a Law (Honours) degree from The University of Warwick. When he is not busy delivering workshops on political financing or DUN institutional reforms, he can be found at Alam Shah Science School (ASiS), his alma mater training the school’s English Debate Team, listening to the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra or browsing through books at Kinokuniya.