Director, Partnership Development

Arafat is the Director of Partnership Development at IDEAS. He has previously served the Iskandar Regional Development Authority as the Special Officer to the Chief Minister of Johor, and Sime Darby Berhad as the Special Office to the Chairman. More recently he was the Head of Strategy and Product Development at Avillion Berhad.

Arafat graduated from the University of Essex with a BA in Economics and Politics, and the London School of Economics and Political Science with a MSc in Politics and Communications. He has served as the Chairman of the United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students and member of the National Youth Consultative Council.

Manager, Research

Aira Azhari manages IDEAS’ Democracy and Governance Unit, where she oversees research and advocacy on the topics of accountable governance, anti-corruption and creating a more policy-oriented political culture in Malaysia. She provides political analysis for IDEAS and various audiences including diplomats, MNCs, the media, the corporate sector as well as civil society organisations. Aira has been interviewed by the BBC (World News and Radio), Astro Awani, Bernama, Channel News Asia, Radio Televisyen Malaysia, Lite FM and BFM on matters relating to Malaysian politics, economics and governance. Aira graduated with a Master of Laws in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Senior Executive, Research

Adli Amirullah is a senior economist at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS). He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and a Master of Research (MRes) in Economics specialising in public economics and policy modeling from University Malaya. He was awarded the Royal Education Award (Anugerah Pelajaran DiRaja) for his achievements during his undergraduate study, and he was the recipient of the King’s Scholarship (Biasiswa Yang di-Pertuan Agong) for his postgraduate study. He has authored more than 10 independent studies on a wide range of topics including aviation, taxation, trade, business regulation, and intellectual property.

Senior Administrator

Amelia obtained her education from Dato ‘Zulkifli Muhammad Secondary School, Slim River, Perak. She has 17 years of experience in administrative & operational management in several different areas such as building management, IT solutions, legal firm, and architectural firm.

Executive, Research

Faiz Zaidi is a Researcher under the Democracy and Governance Unit at IDEAS. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Politics and Government from the University of Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and a Master of Social Science (Strategy and Diplomacy) from the National University of Malaysia (UKM). Faiz was previously an intern under the External Relations Division at IDEAS where he assisted in project and event coordination. He is very passionate in bringing the change for the betterment of Malaysia, particularly through the access to quality education, policy reform and free social movements.