Where Ideas Meet Action.
We are a team of researchers, strategists, and practitioners working across public policy, geopolitics, security, political, and strategic advisory.
Ideas Are Only the Beginning
Research only matters when it leads somewhere. We connect evidence, people, and strategy to help decision-makers understand complex issues and act with greater clarity.
Our People
Dr. Abdul Razak Ahmad
Founding Director
Dr. Abdul Razak Ahmad is currently appointed as Special Representative of the Foreign Minister on Peace Building and Countering Islamophobia, Independent Non-Executive Director of Pharmaniaga Berhad, Chairman of Pristine Pharma, A Commissioner of PT Eritha Berhad, Indonesia and a member of the Board of Directors at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). He was formerly the Chairman of Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS). He is also a member of the Consultative Council on Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He previously served as Special Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Johor and a consultant to the special consultancy team on globalisation at the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) of the Prime Minister’s Department. He was also a faculty member at the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM), teaching international security, international law and global affairs. He is an Adjunct Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia at present.
On the international front, Dr Abdul Razak has served as a consultant and policy advisor in international development projects in Bahrain, Libya, Tunisia, Palestine, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste. He also used to serve as the resource person for the European Union and the World Bank on human development and human security-related issues.
He is a qualified legal counsel and received his PhD in Law and International Security from the University of Leeds, UK. He did his fellowship at East West Centre (University of Hawaii) and was a visiting researcher at Columbia University. He also attended leadership executive programmes at Said Business School (Oxford University) and Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University).
Karisma Putera Abd Rahman
Executive Director
Karisma Putera Abd Rahman is Executive Director at Bait Al Amanah working at the intersection of foreign affairs, public policy, and political analysis. He is interested in how geopolitical developments shape the decisions faced by governments, businesses and communities—from changing security dynamics in Southeast Asia to practical policy challenges such as road safety.
Alongside research and analysis, Karisma contributes to partnership development and stakeholder engagement. He builds relationships across policy, business, academic and civil-society circles, bringing people and perspectives together to deepen understanding, identify shared interests and create opportunities for meaningful collaboration.
Karisma holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Universiti Malaya and a Bachelor’s degree in International Political Economy from City St. George's, University of London. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Diplomat, The Royal Society for Asian Affairs, Nikkei Asia, BFM, Astro Awani and leading Malaysian newspapers.
He brings curiosity, range and a practical instinct to his work — always looking beyond the headline to understand what an issue means for institutions, relationships and people.
Thaha Albana Turmuzi
Research Officer
Thaha Albana Turmuzi is a Research Officer at Bait Al Amanah, where he works on research and policy projects related to foreign affairs, security, and public policy. His work includes policy research and analysis, preparing reports and policy briefs, coordinating projects and roundtables, and engaging with external stakeholders.
Thaha is also a fast-track PhD candidate in the Department of East Asian Studies at Universiti Malaya. His doctoral research examines the evolution of the United States’ hub-and-spokes security system in East Asia, with particular attention to the growing security relationships among U.S. allies and partners in the region.
His research interests include great power rivalry, IR theory, U.S. foreign policy, traditional security, and the foreign and defence policies of East Asian states. His academic work has been published in the Journal of Liberty and International Affairs and Universiti Malaya Press, with further work forthcoming on East Asian security and regional alliance structures.
Thaha holds a Bachelor’s degree in International and Strategic Studies from Universiti Malaya, where he graduated with a CGPA of 3.91/4.00, the highest in his cohort. He was named to the Dean’s List every semester and received the Ghazali Shafie Prize, OMS Excellence Gold Medal, and University Book Prize.
Daniel Alagarajoo
Research Officer
Daniel Alagarajoo is a Research Officer at Bait Al Amanah. He is also a student in his final year studying a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus. With a passion for geopolitics from a young age, he has been involved in Model United Nations since the age of fifteen, winning multiple awards across multiple years and competitions. He has also served as the Director of International Relations of the Academics Department of Taylor’s Lakeside Model United Nations Club.
Daniel’s research interests include Non-Western IR theory, geopolitical hedging, multipolarity, military doctrine and strategy, and National and International Security.
In addition to International Relations, Daniel is also deeply passionate about performing arts and musical theatre, having performed in theatre since the age of 6, and having written and directed a few of his own plays in university.
Ng Sze Fung
Senior Analyst
Ng Sze Fung is a Senior Analyst at Bait Al Amanah. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in geoeconomics at the Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya. His doctoral research examines geoeconomic fragmentation, currency internationalisation and Malaysia’s strategic positioning within ASEAN. He holds a Master of Commercial Law (with Distinction) from the University of Malaya and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London.
Prior to joining Bait Al Amanah, Sze Fung worked as a Research Analyst at Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), where he was involved in a range of policy research spanning public finance, governance, parliamentary affairs, industrial development and state-level political economy. His broader policy work has covered areas including macroeconomic policy, trade, labour markets, inequality and sustainable development, while his research has increasingly focused on economic statecraft and the interaction between domestic institutions, economic policy and the international political economy.
Sze Fung’s research interests include international political economy, parliamentary affairs and public international law. His academic research has been published in Policy Sciences, while his policy and commentary work has appeared in Fulcrum, the online publication of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, where he writes as a contributor on Malaysian politics, political economy and institutional developments. He has also appeared on BFM 89.9 to discuss public-policy issues including taxation, retirement savings, economic growth and social security.
In addition to his research interests, Sze Fung is deeply interested in politics and philosophy. When he is offline, he may disappear into a gaming spiral.
Our Fellows
Prof. Dr. Kuik Cheng-Chwee
Senior Fellow
Dr. Kuik Cheng-Chwee is Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He is concurrently a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (Washington, DC). Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations and at the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program.
His research focuses on non-great-power alignment behavior, Southeast Asian international relations, and Asian security. He is the author of Theorizing Hedging: Explaining Shifts and Variations in Alignment Choices (Cambridge University Press, 2026), co-author (with David Lampton and Selina Ho) of Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia (2020), and co-editor (with Alice Ba and Sueo Sudo) of Institutionalizing East Asia (2016).
A regular speaker at international conferences and closed-door policy roundtables, he serves on the editorial boards of Contemporary Southeast Asia, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Journal of East Asian Studies, and several other international journals. He also served as Head of the Writing Team (2019–2020) for Malaysia's inaugural Defence White Paper. Dr. Kuik holds an M.Litt. from the University of St Andrews and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. He has been listed among Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Scientists in the subfield of International Relations for 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Areas of Expertise: (i) International Relations, (ii) Geopolitics, (iii) Strategic Hedging
Prof. Dr. Lai Yew Meng
Senior Fellow
LAI Yew Meng is Professor of Politics and International Relations at the Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning (CPKLL), and Director of Research Management Centre (RMC), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). He also serves as Fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS), Ministry of Defence, Malaysia, and associate research fellow at the University of Malaya’s Institute of China Studies (ICS). Lai is a former member of the National Consultative Council on Foreign Policy (CCFP), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, and Joint Coordinator of the Technical/Expert Committee, Curriculum Structure and Content Development for Timor-Leste’s Institute of Diplomatic Studies, a government-to-government capacity-building programme between the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to develop and conduct diplomatic training for Timorese career diplomats.
Lai obtained his master’s degree in international political economy, and doctorate in Politics from the University of Warwick. His research interests include Japanese/Chinese foreign policy, Sino-Japanese relations, East Asian security, Malaysian politics and foreign policy, Indonesia-Malaysia relations, and South China Sea issues. Lai has actively published his research writings with reputable local and international publishers.
Among his notable publications include the Security Studies: A Reader (Routledge, 2011); Nationalism and Power Politics in Japan’s Relations with China: A Neoclassical Realist Interpretation (Routledge, 2014); “Malaysia’s Security Concerns: A Contemporary Assessment” in Meredith L. Weiss (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia (London, 2015); and “Structural Sources of Malaysia’s South China Sea Policy: Power Uncertainties and Small-State Hedging,” Australian Journal of International Affairs (2021). His more recent publications are two edited books, namely The Politics of Nationalism, Pride, Prejudice and Power in Indonesia’s Relations with Malaysia: A Neoclassical Realist Perspective (UMS Press, 2025) and Pulau Layang-Layang: Malaysia’s Gem in the South China Sea (UMS Press, 2024), as well as research articles like “Deference and Defiance in Malaysia’s China Policy: Determinants of a Dualistic Policy”, International Journal of Asian Studies (2023); “Emerging Dynamics in Malaysia-Japan Relations under the Second Mahathir Administration”, Issues and Studies (2022); “Crouching Tiger, Ascending Dragon: The Trends and Dynamics of Malaysia-China Relations”, Kajian Malaysia: Journal of Malaysian Studies (2023); and two Asian Perspective (2025) articles on new bilateralism and transregionalism in Southeast Asia-Middle East relations.
Areas of Expertise: (i) Malaysia’s Foreign and Defence Policies, (ii) East Asian/Indo-Pacific Security, (iii) Japanese Foreign and Defence Policies
Prof. Dr. Wan Chang Da
Senior Fellow
Wan Chang Da (CD Wan) is a Professor in the School of Education at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. Prior to this, he spent a decade with the National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN), Universiti Sains Malaysia, where he last held the position of Director. In between his academic tenures, he took a hiatus from academia, during which he led The HEAD Foundation as Chief Executive Officer, and later became a founding member of Teach For All’s Global Institute for Shaping a Better Future as Head of Growth and Strategic Partnerships. Over this period, he also held a Visiting Senior Fellowship with the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
As an academic, Chang Da has extensive experience in higher education policy research and has published widely on the subject. To date, he has published almost 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, as well as co-authored 15 policy documents. He has also served as editor for five monographs, including with Springer and Routledge. Chang Da is also a series editor for Routledge’s Critical Studies in Asian Education book series.
Chang Da has served on several national committees on higher education in Malaysia and has led research consultancy and capacity-building projects for various international agencies and local organisations, including UNESCO, UNICEF, the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility, the Asia-Europe Foundation, Global School Leaders, the Academy of Higher Education Leadership (AKePT), the Malaysian Ministry of Education/Higher Education, and Bait Al Amanah. Chang Da is an elected Alumni Member of the Global Young Academy, as well as a Life Member of the Malaysian Society for Higher Education Policy and Research Development (PenDaPaT). He studied economics at the University of Malaya and the National University of Singapore, before going on to read education at Oxford.
Areas of Expertise: (i) Higher Education Policy, (ii) Education, Training and Work, (iii) Regionalisation and Internationalisation of Education
Mohd Daud Mat Din
Senior Fellow
Mohd Daud Mat Din is a lawyer and policy strategist with more than a decade of experience across government, law and public policy research. Most recently, he served as Parliament and Strategic Affairs Officer to the Minister of Defence, and before that as Parliament and Policy Officer to the Minister of Higher Education. Before joining government, he spent seven years as Research Director at Bait Al Amanah. Over his career, he has worked as a political strategist, speechwriter and policy analyst to the Ministers of Higher Education, Foreign Affairs and Defence, the Menteri Besar of Johor and Perak, and a Leader of the Opposition who later became Malaysia's ninth Prime Minister.
Daud is an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. He was called to the Malaysian Bar in 2010, practised at Zaid Ibrahim & Co, and later became a Partner at CSQ Law. His practice covered financial sector regulation, arbitration and dispute resolution. He also led a market feasibility study for Kazakhstan's Astana International Financial Centre Authority. As a writer, he has published in Studia Islamika (Scopus Q1), submitted written evidence to the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, and contributed to several government reports, including the Johor Development Reports. He has also written more than 25 commentaries for Malaysian media. A certified translator, he has translated six books, among them Joseph Stiglitz's Freefall, Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat and Nazir Razak's What's in a Name.
Daud has represented Malaysia in the Commonwealth Youth Programme and the Asian Youth Caucus, including at the 6th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in The Bahamas. He read law at the International Islamic University Malaysia and completed an MA in Islamic Finance at Durham University as a Chevening Scholar. He then took a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School as an Edward S. Mason Fellow.
Areas of Expertise: (i) Diplomacy and Internationalisation of Higher Education, (ii) Defence Procurement, Offsets and Security Policy, (iii) Southeast Asian Culture and Heritage
Seow E Kin Zane Ryan
Fellow
Seow E Kin Zane Ryan is a Fellow at Bait Al Amanah and a Master of Public Policy alumnus from Universiti Malaya. His multidisciplinary expertise spans the intersection of technology, national security, and statecraft in Southeast Asia. Zane’s career includes facilitating high-stakes conflict mediation initiatives in the ASEAN region, analysing maritime security and critical infrastructure protection in the South China Sea, and tracking regional influence operations. Zane is also currently a researcher at the Southeast Asian Futures Initiative Centre (SEAFIC), where his work focuses on macro-level policy analysis, tracking geopolitical trends, and monitoring the broader development of ASEAN’s emerging AI and technology ecosystems.
Areas of Expertise: (i) Tech Geopolitics, (ii) Information Manipulation, (iii) Conflict Mediation
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Mohamad Nabill Nuqman Fakhrol Azmi
Fellow
Mohamad Nabill Nuqman Fakhrol Azmi is an Intelligence Analyst in the Minister's Office at the Ministry of Defence Malaysia. His work centres on regional and international security, with a particular interest in strategic developments in ASEAN and the wider Indo-Pacific, and in how these shape Malaysia's foreign and defence policy. He holds a Bachelor of International Relations and Global Studies from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, where he studied as a Nippon Foundation Scholar.
Areas of Expertise: (i) ASEAN and Indo-Pacific Strategic Affairs, (ii) Security Dynamics in the Middle East, (iii) Malaysian Foreign Policy and Bilateral Diplomacy
Areas of Expertise: (i) ASEAN and Indo-Pacific strategic affairs, (ii) Security dynamics in the Middle East, (iii) Malaysian foreign policy and bilateral diplomacy
