Corporate Profile
As of 26 November 2013
Introduction
The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (“IDEAS”) is…
Malaysia’s only think-tank dedicated to
promoting market-based solutions to
public policy challenges
An independent not-for-profit
organisation
Not bound by party politics, race or
religion.
A cross-partisan think tank
We are inspired by the vision of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, that this nation should:
“be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent
State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and
ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and
the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”
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Introduction | OUR PHILOSOPHY
What we believe…
The Rule of Law
We believe in a system of government in which all persons are accountable under the law
Limited Government
We believe the powers of the government must be limited, usually through a written constitution that both enumerates
and limits executive power with checks and balances.
Free Markets
We believe that when people are allowed to freely trade and exchange good and services in a mutual and consenting
manner, they will not only promote productive efficiency, but even more, foster harmony and peace amongst each
other.
Individual Liberty & Responsibility
We believe that society should exist within the context of reciprocity, mutual respect, acceptance and personal
responsibility.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Founding President
Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz (“Tunku Abidin”)
Tunku 'Abidin was educated at the Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith School, Marlborough College and the
London School of Economics and Political Science, where he obtained his BSc in Government and
Sociology and MSc in Comparative Politics and Imperial History. He then worked in the Houses of
Parliament before moving to Washington DC to join the World Bank as a Public Sector Consultant.
Upon returning to Kuala Lumpur in 2008, Tunku 'Abidin worked at the United Nations Development
Programme and the KRA Group before becoming a Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School
of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore from March 2009 to August 2010. Throughout,
he helped to develop the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) which he cofounded in 2006, and maintained his regular columns: Abiding Times in theSun from March 2008 to
August 2011, Roaming Beyond the Fence in the Star and Sin Chew from September 2011 to
December 2012 and now Conservatively Speaking Freely in the Malay Mail, Borneo Post and
Oriental Daily.
A member of the Negeri Sembilan Royal Family, Tunku 'Abidin also authored the official book for
the Installation of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar and led a major project to revitalise the State Anthem.
He is a trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Yayasan Munarah and Yayasan Chow Kit, is an
advisor or patron to several cultural organisations, and is an honorary major in the Malaysian
Territorial Army.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ BOARD OF DIRECTORS (CONT’D)
Founding Chief Executive
Wan Saiful Wan Jan (“Wan Saiful”)
Wan Saiful Wan Jan is Chief Executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs
(www.ideas.org.my), which was ranked as the 2012 best new think tank in Asia and 5th best new
think tank in the world by University of Pennsylvania's global think tank ranking.
He is also Director of CfBT Education Malaysia; member of the Advisory Board at Laureate INTI
University; member of the Advisory Board of the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics, History
and International Relations; and member of the Ministry of Education – PEMUDAH Group on
Education. Since May 2011, he is the only Malaysian to be a member of the Mont Pelerin Society,
an international association of classical liberals founded by Nobel Laureate Friedrich von Hayek.
Previously he served as a member of the Razak School of Government’s Academic Working Group;
Director of ASLI Centre for Social Enterprise; and adjunct faculty at UCSI University’s Faculty of
Economics and Policy Science.
He lived in the United Kingdom between August 1993 and October 2009. There he worked for
several organisations, including the think tank Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, the British
Conservative Party’s Research Department, and Social Enterprise London. His opinion has been
quoted by various media, including the BBC, Asian Wall Street Journal, International Herald
Tribune, and The Economist.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ BOARD OF DIRECTORS (CONT’D)
Founding Director
Wan Mohd Firdaus Wan Mohd Fuaad (“Firdaus”)
Firdaus, Founding Director of IDEAS, was educated at SRK Sultan Ibrahim Satu Pasir Mas, SRK Sri
Subang Jaya and Sek Men Agama Persekutuan Kajang. He then went on to read Law at the
University of Nottingham and BPP School of Law. He was previously Special Officer to the Chief
Minister of Johor, handling the corporate portfolio which includes Iskandar Regional Development
Authority and Johor Corporation.
Currently he is currently a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank Malaysia.
He was a national delegate for Nottingham University to the National Union of Students (NUS),
national executive member of Federation Of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), Chairman of
Kesatuan Penuntut Undang Undang Malaysia UK & Eire (KPUM), and Chairman of UKEC (UK and
Eire Council for Malaysian Students) from October 2005 to October 2007. As Chairman of UKEC, he
established the first Malaysian Student Leaders Summit (MSLS), which has become a major national
event. He is also founder of Young Corporate Malaysians and established the annual Young
Corporate Malaysians Summit.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ COUNCIL
Members of the IDEAS Council
Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Ahmad Nerang Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra
Son of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s founding father and Special Adviser to IDEAS.
Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Haji Abdullah (Chairman)
Consultant with Skrine, Former Chief Justice of Malaysia, Chairman of Bursa Malaysia Berhad,
Chairman of Tun Suffian Foundation.
Tan Sri Michael Yeoh
Chief Executive Officer of Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), Member of Malaysian
Competition Commission, and Joint Secretary General of the Malaysia China Business Council, and
ASEAN Business Forum.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ COUNCIL (CONT’D)
Members of the IDEAS Council (cont’d)
Tan Sri Dato Dr Mohd Munir Abdul Majid
Chairman of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad, Board of Trustees of PINTAR Foundation, and
Malaysia-Europe Forum.
Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak
Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Group, Deputy Chairman of CIMB
Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and President Commissioner of PT Bank CIMB Niaga.
Dato’ Dr. R. Thillainathan
Board Member of Bursa Malaysia Berhad, Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad,
Genting Berhad, Petronas Dagangan Berhad and Allianz Malaysia Berhad.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ COUNCIL (CONT’D)
Members of the IDEAS Council (cont’d)
Datuk Seri Azman Ujang
Former General Manager of BERNAMA, Independent Non-executive Director of Berjaya Media
Berhad, Chairman of Creative Republic Sdn Bhd.
Datuk Omar Mustapha
Chairman of Ethos & Company, Independent Non-Executive Director of Petronas and Symphony
House Berhad. He also sits on Airasia’s Board of Directors.
Dato’ Dr. Anthony Cooper
Former Senior Partner of PriceWaterhouse Malaysia, Governor of Tinggi Foundation and the A&A
Charitable Trust.
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Introduction | IDEAS’ COUNCIL (CONT’D)
Members of the IDEAS Council (cont’d)
Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah
Former Deputy Minister for Higher Education; CEO of Global Movement of the Moderates Foundation,
Malaysia.
Yang Berhormat Dato Nur Jazlan Mohamed
Member of Parliament (UMNO) for Pulai, Chairman of Public Accounts
Committee, Board Member of UMLand Berhad, TSH Resources Berhad.
DEWAN RAKYAT
Pulai
Yang Berhormat Datuk Dr. Mujahid Yusof Rawa
Member of Parliament (PAS) for Parit Buntar, PAS Central Committee
Member.
DEWAN RAKYAT
Parit Buntar
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Introduction | IDEAS’ COUNCIL (CONT’D)
Members of the IDEAS Council (cont’d)
Yang Berhormat Dr. Ong Kian Ming
Member of Parliament (DAP) for Serdang, DAP Chief Election Strategist.
DEWAN RAKYAT
Serdang
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Introduction | ORGANISATION
Board of Directors
IDEAS Council
CEO
Wan Saiful Wan Jan
COO
Tricia Yeoh
Charitable Units
IDEAS Autism
Centre
IDEAS
Academy
Public Policy Units
Education
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Governance
Events &
Outreach
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Introduction | OUR GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS
We are part of the Atlas Network – a global network of free market think tanks
Eurasia
183
Partners
North America
181
Partners
Oceania
8
South America
Partners
81
Africa
16
Partners
Partners
469
Partners
Worldwide
Covering
Including
And
EVERY
EVERY
EVERY
Continent
BRICS State
G20 State
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Introduction | OUR REGIONAL NETWORK
We have friends and partners throughout the region
Friedrich Naumann
Foundation (Asia)
Hanoi
Vietnam
Bangkok
Thailand
Naypyidaw
MYANMAR
Regional partners
Doi Moi Va Phat Trien
Minimal Government Thinkers
Vientiane
LAOS
Manila
The Philippines
Hanoi
VIETNAM
Friedrich Naumann Foundation Asia
Freedom Institute
Minimal Government Thinkers
Doi Moi Va Phat Trien
Regional activities
Bangkok
THAILAND
Manila
The Philippines
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Bandar Seri Begawan
BRUNEI
IDEAS
Briefings on the Malaysian economy in
the Philippines
Singapore
SINGAPORE
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Jakarta
INDONESIA
Freedom Institute
Akademi Merdeka, an outreach
programme which aims to introduce
the ideas of civil and economic
freedom to the Indonesian public
Publishing of the Indonesian translation
of Vaclav Klaus’ Blue Planet in Green
Shackles.
Dili
TIMOR-LESTE
Jakarta
Indonesia
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Joint seminars with Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies of Singapore
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History & Early Achievements
History
Key milestones 2007 - 2013
2007 - 2009
July 2007
Received a USD10,000
seed fund from Cato
Institute
February 2008
Published Who Needs
An Islamic State by Dr
Abdelwahab El-Affendi
2010
8 February 2010
MTT was relaunched as
the Institute for
Democracy and
Economic Affairs (IDEAS)
August 2008
Organised first Akademi
Merdeka in Malaysia
October 2008
Malaysia Think Tank
London (“MTT”) was
officially launched
2009
Advisory Board
established
2010
Started Policy Briefing an
idea-generation
publication targeted at
policymakers and the
predecessor to our
current Policy Ideas.
2011
2011
Hosted the “PublicPrivate Partnership in the
School System”
conference in
association with the
Ministry of Education
Hosted the “Economic
Freedom and
Competition”
conference opened by
Florence Abad,
Secretary of Budget and
Finance of the
Philippines
Ranked 18th best new
think tank globally by
the University of
Pennsylvania
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2012
2013
2012
Education initiative
launched with the
support of Khazanah
Nasional Berhad and
Yaysan Sime Darby
2013
Selected by the Election
Commission as an
independent observer
for the 2013 Malaysian
General Election
October 2012
IDEAS Autism Centre
was launched
June 2013
Adoption of a new
strategy: “Making
markets work for the
poor”
November 2012
Launched the Emerging
Market Health Network
to promote the
liberalisation of the
healthcare industry in
Malaysia and regionally
Ranked the 11th best
new think tank globally
Ranked 5th best new
think tank in the world
and the best new think
tank in Asia
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General Strategy: Making Markets Work for the Poor
General Strategy
Our goals by 2015
1. To be a respected as a think tank that speaks based on consistent principles in a cross-partisan way
2. Have a strong outreach to Malaysian and ASEAN policy-makers, scholars, university students and
young professionals
3. Publicly recognised as an organisation that “makes market work for the poor, underprivileged and the
disabled”.
4. Stand on firm financial footing, with reserves sufficient for 9 months of operations, from a mixture of
donations, grants and commissioned work
5. Be an expert on education reform and good governance, while playing the role of a generalist think
tank promoting market-based ideas
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General Strategy (CONT’D)
Our goals by 2015 (cont’d)
6. Be a think tank whose political awareness and strong network give us a competitive advantage to
effectively lobby for improvements
7. Have clear programmes with respected and recognised “brand” for all strands of work
8. Have an effective and strong team with clear descriptions of responsibilities and accountabilities
9. Be an organisation that supports the professional development of its staff
10. Be an organisation that has a strong and professional internal governance system
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General Strategy (CONT’D)
We have organised our operations into four focused units which share a single focus
Education
Researches and
advocates for greater
choice, competition
and accountability in
the school system.
Its focus and interest is
in ensuring that the
poor, underprivileged
and the disabled are
not left out as our
country moves forward.
Governance
Publishes policy papers,
newspaper articles and
political briefings that
highlight pertinent
issues and propose
policies for better
governance.
Focuses on public
spending,
management of GLCs,
democratic institutions,
and decentralization.
Events & Outreach
Engages Malaysian and regional policymakers, scholars, university students and
young professionals to inform and
educate them on the application of
market-based solutions.
Akademi Merdeka is a project under the
Events & Outreach Unit to introduce the
ideas of civil liberties and market
economics among youths in Indonesia
and Malaysia
Mainly operates in Malaysia and
Indonesia, with ambitions of reaching into
other ASEAN countries.
IDEAS Autism Centre
The IAC offers an early
intervention
programme for autistic
children from poor
families. To help
working parents, and
to encourage parents
to stay in employment.
It also provides
research data on the
application of the
social enterprise model
in Malaysia.
MAKING MARKETS WORK FOR THE POOR
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IDEAS Autism Centre
What is autism?
A severely incapacitating lifelong developmental disorder and the third
most common developmental disorder, more common than Down’s
Syndrome.
It causes impairment or disturbance in three main areas:
1. Social skills;
2. Communicative skills; and
3. Repetitive and restricted behaviors.
The disorder may occur alone, or with accompanying problems such as mental retardation
or seizures.
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IDEAS Autism Centre (Cont’d)
The IDEAS Autism Centre
In October 2012, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) took the
initiative to set up the IDEAS Autism Centre in Rawang, Selangor, as part of our effort to
provide care for those in need, and at the same time to research and develop a
sustainable social enterprise model that can be replicated to help underprivileged
children. The IAC is registered with the Department for Social Welfare (reg no: B/TI
151/2012)
IDEAS Autism Centre targets children who:
Are aged
between 3 and 9
years old
Have been
diagnosed with
early stage
autism
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From low-income
urban households
Have care needs
that are within
our capabilities
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General Strategy (CONT’D)
Selected publications in 2013
November 2013
The Hardware and
Software to
Overcome a
Middle-Income Trap
February 2013
Escaping ‘Middle
Class Capture’ in
Education Policy
October 2013
Key Failings in the
Malaysian Public
Procurement
System
August 2013
After GE13:
Strengthening
Democracy in
Malaysia
July 2013
Private Education
for the Poor?
May 2013
Was GE13 Free and
Fair?
February 2013
Fake Medicines in
Asia
January 2013
The Monarchy and
The Constitution in
Malaysia by
Prof. Abdul Aziz Bari
January 2013
Malay translation of
Friedrich Hayek’s
The Road to
Serfdom
January 2013
Free Trade and
Markets in
Healthcare: Lessons
from Asia
Annual
Economic Freedom
of the World Index
2013
Annual
International Property
Rights Index
2013
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General Strategy (CONT’D)
Selected events in 2013
November 2013
Launch of Phoenix
Economics by IDEAS
Fellow Dr. Carmelo
Ferlito
November 2013
DISKUSI BAJET 2014:
“Apa Tindakan
Rakyat?”
November 2013
5th Annual Young
Corporate
Malaysians Summit
November 2013
Economic Freedom
Workshop – Assessing
Liberalisation in
Malaysia
October 2013
Emerging Markets
Health Network
Roundtable,
Bangkok
September 2013
MCCHR/LoyarBurok
fundraiser talk in
conjunction with
Malaysia Day`
September 2013
Akademi Merdeka
in Jakarta,
Indonesia
September 2013
The State of
Democracy and the
Economy in Malaysia
Makati, Philippines
September 2013
IKMAS-CIJ Seminar:
The Role of Media in
Future Elections
April 2013
Affin Investment
Conference Series
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October 2013
EFN Asia
Conference,
Bangkok
January 2013
ICAAM State of the
Nation Dialogue
Series
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Finances (CONT’D)
We have been funded by the following institutions
A&A
CHARITABLE TRUST
TINGGI
FOUNDATION
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