OUR
PEOPLE
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Core Team
Tan E Hun
Executive Director
E Hun joined REFSA in pursuit of contributing towards Malaysia’s nation building agenda. She has been leading the team to identify universal issues that Malaysians care about, and to transform ideas into policies that make an impact.
E Hun spent more than a decade working in the private sector both as a practitioner and in the industry. She was a mergers and acquisitions tax consultant in London with a leading international professional services firm where she served a wide ranging portfolio of international clients from various industries. She later worked in the property development industry focusing on business development and sales.
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.
Ivy Kwek Ai Wei
Research Director
Ivy joined REFSA as she believes in changing the society and instilling good governance by promoting inclusive and sustainable policy agendas. Prior to this, she was the Special Functions Officer to the Deputy Minister of Defence of Malaysia, Sen. Liew Chin Tong, in which she advises the Deputy Minister on policy matters and was involved in the drafting of the first Malaysian Defence White Paper. She has wide experience working in various policy advisory and governmental affairs roles for international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and in the diplomatic circle.
Ivy holds a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London and a BSc (Hons) in Life Sciences from University of Malaya. She is also an alumna of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program by the US Department of State.
Raja Ahmad Iskandar Fareez
Communications Director
Iskandar brings in over 6 years experience in the media and communications industry specialising in public relations and strategic communications with a brief stint in the financial services sector. He joins REFSA as he believes that good public policy-making plays an instrumental role in shaping the lives of every citizen, especially the vulnerable and underserved communities. While he has a wide-ranging interest in various issues and policies, he is particularly passionate about the areas of information and media literacy as well as social mobility.Â
Iskandar holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
Fakhrurrazi Rashid
Research Coordinator
Fakhrurrazi believes in the need for REFSA as a think tank to enhance policy debates. He believes that policy discourses in Malaysia needs to be backed by rigorous evidence-based research. He graduated from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) with a Bachelor’s in Politics and Government Studies, where he specialised in parliamentary studies and public policy. His main research interests are urbanization, political economy, and institutional reforms.
Raymond Kwan Say Hong
Researcher
Raymond graduated from Taiwan’s Shih Hsin University with Bachelor’s degree in journalism, and is a former investigative journalist of a Malaysian national newspaper. He is interested in socio-political issues and public policy. As an experienced journalist, he is able to carry out policy research in both quantitative (survey and data analysis) and qualitative (in-depth interview and focus group) approaches.
Raymond is also actively involved in various NGOs that work on youth development and community building. In April 2019, he was appointed as a chairperson of Penggerak Belia Tempatan in Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) by the Selangor State Government.
Jaideep Singh
Researcher
Jaideep joined REFSA because he is drawn to the organisation’s focus on socio-economic development in Malaysia through pragmatic, pluralist policy recommendations.
He previously served a two-year public policy fellowship at the Zanzibar Ministry of Finance and Planning in Tanzania under the UK-coordinated Overseas Development Institute. In addition to his background in international development, he is particularly interested in the linkages between trade and industrial policy.
Jaideep holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Warwick.
Lillian Wee Ean Pin (Lilly)
Researcher
Lilly has a Masters (Hons) in Sociology from Monash University Malaysia. With eight years of experience in media and journalism, she has extensive experience as a writer and project manager, specialising in digital advertising, branding, and editorial.
Lilly joined REFSA with a passion to contribute to social justice in Malaysia. She believes in exploring creative solutions to advocate for sustainable policies by bridging the gap between research and public discourse.
Her current research interests include urbanisation and public welfare.Â
Lourdes Loh Ye Shing (Morgan)
Research Analyst
Kieran
Research Assistant and Librarian
Kieran is a Social Sciences graduate from Monash University Malaysia who is deeply passionate about social justice. She has accumulated a range of experiences, from capacity building to media, whilst volunteering for numerous non-governmental organisations including UNAM Youth, Malaysian Youth Delegation, MYADP and HungerHurts. Kieran aims to use her skills to contribute to REFSA’s cause, and is interested in the field of environmental development and social change.
Advisory Team
Chairman of Board of Trustees
YB Liew Chin Tong is the Chairman of REFSA since 2012, and currently serves as a board member of Penang Institute. He was the Executive Director of REFSA from 2007-2011. He was also the Executive Director of Penang Institute (previously Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, SERI) from 2009-2012, and was formerly a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore.
He has published numerous books and prominent academic journals focusing on political and socio-economic issues of the nation.
He is the current Deputy Defence Minister of Malaysia, appointed on 17 July 2018 after being sworn in as a Senator. He was first elected Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera (2008-2013), and was subsequently the Member of Parliament for Kluang (2013-2018).
YB Liew graduated with a degree in Political Science and an honours degree in Asian Studies from the Australian National University, and holds an International Masters in Regional Integration from the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya.
Frederik Paulus
Advisor, Economics and Finance
Frederik has a 20-year career in financial services, with a specialisation in risk management and compliance. He is well-versed in financial services regulation, from capital and balance sheet management to financial crime compliance, and how banks’ strategies need to adapt to this regulatory landscape. Further afield, he is fascinated by the interplay between policy-making and the real economy, as well as the social and political ramifications. Frederik writes a weekly newsletter focused on the intersection of economics, finance and technology, with a particular focus on privacy and tech regulation. He holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Antwerp and a Masters in Finance from London Business School.