OUR
PEOPLE
Core Team
Tan E Hun
Chair of the Board
Through her role, she focuses on developing and delivering policy, and in empowering local communities and the wider public. She commonly works with key stakeholders including parliamentarians, ministries, government agencies and civil society organisations to shape public policy discourse, and frequently participates in various focus groups, working committees and roundtable discussions.
Prior to joining REFSA, E Hun spent more than a decade working in the private sector, which informed her approach and understanding of cross-sectoral collaboration between the public, private and non-profit sectors.
E Hun holds a Law degree from the University of Leeds, UK and a Master’s degree in Management with Finance from the University of Bath, UK. She is also a Fellow Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Thenesh Anbalagan
Deputy Director
Thenesh is a strategist whose work sits at the intersection of three axes of statecraft:
law, economics, and politics. He is driven by a deep belief in Malaysia’s potential to
rise as a great nation and is committed to helping the country rethink its strategic
choices and chart a stronger course in a rapidly changing world.
He brings with him a wealth of experience, having built his career across litigation,
academia, and public policy. As a litigator, he was involved in several high-profile
disputes, including a multibillion dollar fraud recovery action. He has also served as
a part-time lecturer at the National University of Malaysia (UKM), where he teaches
Constitutional Law, Company Law, and International Law. His policy work later took
him to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), where he advised on
matters of law, policy, and strategy. His advisory portfolio at MITI covered a wide
range of matters including national security, sanctions and export-control
compliance, trade remedies, geopolitics and geoeconomics, advanced technology,
trade and investment treaties, and international disputes. He was also substantially
involved in MITI’s legislative reform efforts where he helped review statutes under
the purview of the Ministry and, draft new laws designed to shape the future of
Malaysia’s industrial ecosystem and fortify its supply chain security.
Thenesh holds a law degree from the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and
later completed a master’s degree in law at Harvard Law School. He is also a King’s
Scholar, having received the prestigious King’s Scholarship from His Majesty the
King of Malaysia.