Agenda Popup Day 1 (4.50pm – 5.35pm) - The Hasanah Forum 2021 | Yayasan Hasanah

DAY 1 – 17 July 2021 – 4.50pm – 5.35pm

Special Session: Learning from the Pandemic

– Weaving in a Social Justice Perspective

The session will explore lessons learned from managing the pandemic and its impact on communities and vulnerable groups towards a more community-centred and inclusive response.

Professor Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at University of Malaya’s Faculty of Medicine, WHO Science Council Member, and Member of Selangor COVID Task-Force, in conversation with Dr Melati Nungsari, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Asia School of Business and a Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Dato' Shahira Ahmed Bazari

Managing Director, Yayasan Hasanah

As Trustee and Managing Director of Hasanah, YBhg. Dato’ Shahira works together with a network of civil society organisations to create positive long-term and sustainable impact within Malaysia’s social and environmental landscapes. Hasanah invests in the following focus areas – Education, Community Development, Environment, Arts & Public Spaces, and Knowledge & Research.

Under Dato’ Shahira’s leadership and guidance, Hasanah has assisted more than 1 million lives in Malaysia since its inception in 2015, alongside humanitarian relief initiatives. More prominently, in the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic (2020/2021), Hasanah quadrupled their giving to RM400 million (USD 95 million) in 2021 through partnerships with the public and private sector, resulting in five times more civil society partners and projects awarded in 2020 and 2021.

Dato’ Shahira’s role to Hasanah evolved out of her nine-year tenure at Khazanah between 2006 – 2015, where her last held position was Director in the Managing Director’s Office, in which she was instrumental in the setting up of Hasanah between 2013 – 2015. Prior to Khazanah, Dato’ Shahira led a regional role in Public Affairs for Procter & Gamble Malaysia; and also worked in a private think-tank at the start of her career.

Today, within her current capacity, Dato’ Shahira also serves as a Trustee on the Boards of several social-based organisations in Malaysia. Currently she sits on the board of trustees for Yayasan Khazanah (Education & Scholarship), Think City Sdn Bhd (Urban Regeneration), Yayasan Sejahtera (Poverty Alleviation), PINTAR Foundation (Education); and was also a board member of the National Visual Arts Development Board from 2017 to 2020. Internationally, Dato’s Shahira has also sat as the Global Council Member of the Social Innovation Exchange (SIX), United Kingdom from 2018 – 2020.

Dato’ Shahira holds a Bachelor of Arts from the International Islamic University Malaysia, and M.A. in Public Communication from American University, Washington D.C., United States, and has completed the Cambridge Business Sustainability Management Course from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Personally, Dato’ Shahira is a big advocate and voice for the power of collaboration in the third sector. She believes that listening closely to the grassroots’ voice while working with people grounded with the same principles, allow us to build meaningful, heartfelt, and longer-term impacts for society. Driven by this virtue, Hasanah, under Data’ Shahira’s leadership, has galvanised various multi-stakeholder social projects in the country, under the Public-Private-People-Partnership (PPPP) Model. This collaborative spirit has pushed boundaries beyond imagination, as Hasanah co-helmed several impact coalitions, including the Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) & Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) Disaster Response Network (“GDRN”) to streamline urgent assistance to Malaysians during a crisis.

Today, within her current capacity, Dato’ Shahira also serves as a Trustee on the Boards of several social-based organisations in Malaysia. Currently she sits on the board of trustees for Yayasan Khazanah (Education & Scholarship), Think City Sdn Bhd (Urban Regeneration), Yayasan Sejahtera (Poverty Alleviation), PINTAR Foundation (Education); and was also a board member of the National Visual Arts Development Board from 2017 to 2020. IOnternationally, Dato’s Shahira has also sat as the Global Council Member of the Social Innocation Exchange (SIX), United Kingdom from 2018 – 2020.

Personally, Dato’ Shahira is a big advocate and voice for the power of collaboration in the third sector. She believes that listening closely to the grassroots’ voice while working with people grounded with the same principles, allow us to build meaningful, heartfelt, and longer-term impacts for society. Driven by this virtue, Hasanah, under Data’ Shahira’s leadership, has galvanised various multi-stakeholder social projects in the country, under the Public-Private-People-Partnership (PPPP) Model. This collaborative spirit has pushed boundaries beyound imagination, as Hasanah co-helmed several impact coalitions, including the Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) & Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) Disaster Response Network (“GDRN”) to streamline urgent assistance to Malaysians during a crisis.

Jalil Rasheed

Group Chief Executive Officer of Berjaya Corporation Berhad

Jalil Rasheed is currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of Berjaya Corporation Berhad. He brings with him 18 years of investment and business leadership experience, having worked in the UK, USA, Malaysia and Singapore with global investment firms Aberdeen Standard Investment and Invesco Limited. Besides investment experience, Jalil Rasheed has worked with many international Boards on corporate governance, instilling operational effectives and excellence. He led some large turnaround projects mainly in asset management & buyouts. He was the former President & Group CEO of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). Prior to that, he was the CEO of Invesco, based in Singapore.

Jalil Rasheed sits on the board of Berjaya Corporation Berhad. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council for Malaysia at the Singapore Management University (“SMU”), helping SMU students gain the right industry experience.

Dato' Prof. Dr. Adeeba Binti Kamarulzaman

Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya
and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Yale University

Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman is a Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Universiti Malaya and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Yale University. She was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, UM from 2011 to 2019. She is presently Chair of the UM Medical Centre COVID-19 Task Force and a member of the Selangor State Task Force Committee.

Professor Adeeba has played a leading role in the response to the HIV epidemic in Malaysia and globally and is currently the Chairman of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and President of the International AIDS Society, is a member of the WHO Science Council, UNAIDS Advisory Group and WHO Academy’s Quality Committee. Her achievements have been recognised through several national and international awards including an Honorary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, Monash University, for her contributions to medicine and as a health advocate.

Anshu Gupta

Founder, GOONJ

Popularly known as the Clothing Man and the recipient of 2015 Ramon Magsaysay award, Anshu Gupta founded Goonj with a mission to highlight some basic but ignored needs of people on the development agenda, using clothing as a metaphor. Anshu studied mass communication apart from doing a Masters in Economics and started as a freelance journalist. He left a corporate communication job in 1998 and initiated Goonj..

Under his leadership Goonj has taken the alarming growth of urban waste and turned it into a tool to trigger large scale work on various rural development issues. An Ashoka and Schwab Fellow for entrepreneurship, Anshu is creatively and flexibly matching and seamlessly weaving urban surplus into the changing priorities & realities of rural marginalized communities. He has built the genesis of a parallel

Using the discard of the cities and efforts and knowledge of the poor as a new resource for eliminating poverty, Anshu’s work offers the world a sustainable economic model. By prioritizing the dignity of the receiver and putting the decision making back into their hands. Anshu has also added ‘dignity’ as an important lens to define development for people.

Under Anshu’s leadership Goonj has done massive disaster relief and rehab work pan India, turning every disaster into an opportunity to reach resources and attention to the most ignored communities. Listed by the Forbes magazine as one of India’s most powerful rural entrepreneurs, Anshu and Goonj have received a series national and international recognition on innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and public service including World Bank’s development Market place award, Changemakers Innovation award to Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Fair Business Practices

A foody, an entrepreneur, a thinker, a doer, an avid traveler, photographer and a journalist by heart, Anshu often pens prose and poetry, giving vent to his feelings and opinions on the issues that bother him about the world around him.

The citation of 2015 Magsaysay award, popularly known as the Noble Prize of Asia conferred on him says – “The Board of Trustees recognizes his creative vision in transforming the culture of giving in India, his enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor, and in reminding the world that true giving always respects and preserves human dignity.”

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff

Principal Research Fellow at Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA),
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Datuk Dr. Anis Yusal has been a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), National University of Malaysia (UKM) since January 2009. Between 2015 – 2020, he was seconded to help lead 3 agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department. He was made the fourth President and CEO of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (INTEGRITI), the Founding Director General of the National Department for Integrity and Good Governanceand as the Founding Deputy Director General of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC). During this period he also served as Secretary to the National Consultative Council onPolitical Funding, Chairman of the Technical Committee of the National Consultative Council on Political Funding and as Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Political Donation Act 2020.

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal was an Adjunct Professor at INPUMA University Malaya and at Tun Hussein Onn University – (2018 -2020). Prior to joining KITA, Datuk Dr Anis Yusal spent more than ten years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) including a stint with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

Other notable national advisory councils he previously served include as Chairman of Majlis Perundingan Keharmonian Rakyat (MPKR), member of The Election Reform Committee, member of The Investigation Committee for Governance, Government Procurement and Financial Procedures, member of the Advisory Panel for The Consultation and Prevention of Corruption under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, advisory member of the panel for the National Advisory Consumers Council and advisory member of the National Unity and Integration.

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal was Deputy Chairman and Commissioner of The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, appointed by DYMM Yang Di Pertuan Agong from 2014 – July 2018.

He has been actively speaking and writing on issues related to people and development and his research and writings have been published as books, chapters in books, and as articles in a number of journals and newspapers. The national media also regularly invites him as an analyst of Malaysian socio-politics to discuss areas related to corruption, money politics and ethnic relations.

SOME SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Information and Indigenous Technological Capacity in Developing Countries, [co-author with Marta Dosa] in Across All Borders: International Information Flows and Applications, Scarecrow Press, London, 1997.
2. Understanding ICT for Development Thematic in Malaysia: A Sourcebook, [co-author with Sharon Y.P. Lim] published by UNDP, Kuala Lumpur, 2003.
3. Political Integrity in Malaysia: Towards a Better Understanding, [Co-editor with Zubayry Abady and Mohd Rais Ramli]. Published by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, Kuala Lumpur, 2009.
4. Managing Peace in Malaysia: a case study, [co-author with Shamsul A.B.] published by the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), UKM, Kuala Lumpur, 2011.
5. Combatting Corruption: Understanding Anti-Corruption Initiatives in Malaysia, (Co-author with Jenny Gryzelius & Sri Murniati) published by Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Kuala Lumpur, 2013.
6. Recentring Governance, Integrity & Anti-Corruption in Malaysia: New Institutions, New Policies and the Will to Change. [Co-Editor with Abu Kassim Mohamed] Published by GIACC and UNDP, Putrajaya, 2020.

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal was an Adjunct Professor at INPUMA University Malaya and at Tun Hussein Onn University – (2018-2020). Prior to joining KITA, Datuk Dr Anis Yusal spent more than ten years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) including a stint with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

Datuk Dr Anis Yusal was Deputy Chairman and Commissioner of The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission, appointed by DYMM Yang DiPertuan Agong from 2014 – July 2018.

SOME SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Leong Cheung

Executive Director Charities & Community, The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Mr Leong Cheung is the Executive Director of Charities & Community at The Hong Kong Jockey Club. In this capacity he is also the co-chair of the Hong Kong Chapter of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Prior to joining the Club, Mr Leong was the Operating Partner with Bain Capital. Before that he was the Managing Director of Global Sourcing & Supply Chain at Esquel Group, the founder and CEO of an education focused Internet venture, and a senior consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. up. Mr Cheung is also the co-founder of an innovative social enterprise, RunOurCity.

In addition to his present roles, Mr Cheung is active in the community. He currently serves as the chairperson of the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food. He is a director of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited and is an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Mr Cheung has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood

Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin on Public Health

Dr. Mahmood is a medical professional with more than two decades experience managing crises in health, disasters and conflict settings. She is currently the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia on Public Health, and began her mandate in April 2020. She is also a member of the Government of Malaysia’s Economic Action Council.

Her previous appointments include the Under Secretary General for Partnerships at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit secretariat at the United Nations, and Chief of the Humanitarian

Response Branch at UNFPA. She is the founder of MERCY Malaysia a southern based international humanitarian organization.

Dr. Mahmood has held many Board positions in NGOs and INGOs and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for her work. In 2020, she was appointed a Senior Fellow of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Centre.

Dr Mahmood graduated as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) has a Masters in Obstetrics & Gynaecology from the same university and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists United Kingdom. She also completed executive education at the International Management and Development Centre, IMD Lausanne.

Response Branch at UNFPA. She is the founder of MERCY Malaysia a southern based international humanitarian organization.

Naina Subberwal Batra

CEO of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network

Naina joined AVPN as our CEO from September 2013, and was appointed Chairperson in May 2018. Naina’s leadership over the past 7 years has nurtured the AVPN community, growing the membership base by more than 4x and elevating the organization into a truly regional force for good. Under her direction, the organization has grown from focusing only on Venture Philanthropy to supporting the entire ecosystem of social investors, from philanthropists to impact investors and corporate CSR professionals. She has also been instrumental in developing AVPN’s innovative services that connect, empower and educate the now 600+ members of AVPN. In 2019, Naina was awarded one of Asia’s Top Sustainability Superwomen by CSRWorks. She is also serving as Board Member of the Global Resilient Cities Network and Trustee at Bridge Institute.

Prior to joining AVPN, Naina was a member of the senior leadership team of a purpose driven unit at The Monitor Group, a leading global strategy consulting firm, aimed at catalyzing markets for social change. Naina was also partner and Co-Founder of Group Fifty Private Ltd, curating contemporary Indian art with a view to provide a medium for upcoming and established Indian artists to showcase their work directly to a large and diverse audience.

Naina has a master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University where she graduated at the top of her class. She also holds a bachelor degree in Economics and International Relations from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA and a General Course Diploma in economics from The London School of Economics.

Kate Raworth

Economist & Author of ‘Doughnut Economics’

Kate Raworth (sounds like ‘Ray-worth’) is a renegade economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab.

Her internationally best selling book Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist has been translated into over 20 languages and has been widely influential with diverse audiences, from the UN General Assembly to Pope Francis to Extinction Rebellion.

Kate is a Senior Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, where she teaches on the Masters in Environmental Change and Management. She is also Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Over the past 25 years, Kate’s career has taken her from working with micro-entrepreneurs in the villages of Zanzibar to co-authoring the Human Development Report for UNDP in New York, followed by a decade as Senior Researcher at Oxfam.

She holds a first class BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and an MSc in Economics for Development, both from Oxford University. She is a member of the Club of Rome and currently serves on the World Health Organisation Council on the Economics of Health for All.

Kate has written extensively for media including The Guardian, The New Statesman, Newsweek.com, and Wired.com, and has contributed to many radio programmes including for BBC Radio 4, The World Service, ABC and NPR, as well as television including CNN World News, Al-Jazeera, BBC, ITV and CBC. The Guardian has named her as “one of the top ten tweeters on economic transformation”.

She blogs at www.kateraworth.com and tweets @kateraworth.

Kon Onn Sein

Director, Foundation for Community Studies and Development
(Yayasan Kajian & Pembangunan Masyarakat)

Kon is the managing director of the Foundation for Community Studies and Development covering poverty alleviation and community development programmes, among the Orang Asli and the urban poor. Since 2015, he has focused on developing a shared prosperity community enterprise in natural farming to empower the Orang Asli in sustainable livelihood and environment.

Kon actively does programmes at grass root and forums at both local and global platforms.

He has also sat in a number of working committees for SUHAKAM (National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia)in Orang Asli development and as a national steering member of the OA Micro grant Facility under MOF and UNDP. He is also a Malaysian representative of ASIAN Solidarity Economy Council (ASEC) and the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS) that promotes fair and just businesses. Kon is also a member of CSO – SDG Alliance, a civil society partnership with EPU.

His training was in law, a member of the Inner Temple and holds a MA in Social Development from the University of Sussex under a Chevening scholarship.

Publication:
Leaving No one behind : Localising SDGs post Covid 19: SDGs and the Well Being of the Orang Asal and Orang Asli – Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, Feb 2021

He has also sat in a number of working committees for SUHAKAM (National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia) in Orang Asli development and as a national steering member of the OA Micro grant Facility under MOF and UNDP. He is also a Malaysian representative of ASIAN Solidarity Economy Council (ASEC) and the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS) that promotes fair and just businesses. Kon is also a member of CSO – SDG Alliance, a civil society partnership with EPU.

His training was in law, a member of the Inner Temple and holds a MA in Social Development from the University of Sussex under a Chevening scholarship.

Publication:
Leaving No one behind : Localising SDGs post Covid 19: SDGs and the Well Being of the Orang Asal and Orang Asli – Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, Feb 2021

Rashvin Pal Singh

Chief Executive Officer, Biji-Biji Initiative

Rashvin is the Group CEO of Biji-biji Initiative, which is one of Malaysia’s pioneering and award winning Social Enterprise that champions sustainability. Biji-biji Initiative comprises subsidiaries across a few industries, in Ethical Fashion, Circular Economy Solutions, and their latest venture Me.reka, which is an innovative and alternative education model, designed to build 21st Century talents. In 2018, Me.reka completed its equity crowdfunding round to raise RM1.6m from 121 unique investors through PitchIn. Me.reka operates a 12,000 sq feet Makerspace in Publika, Kuala Lumpur, and another with Taylor’s University called Taylor’s Me.reka Makerspace.

Rashvin plays a regular role in global programs and speaking engagements, he was a panel speaker at the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) 2019 in Addis Ababa and was selected as an Obama Leader in the Asia Pacific inaugural cohort. Rashvin graduated with an Accounting and Finance degree from Bristol Business School, United Kingdom. He spent 4 years of his early career in the corporate world, as a Manager at the Advisory Division of PwC Malaysia.

YB Hannah Yeoh

Former Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

Hannah Yeoh is the former Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development. She is also the current Member of Parliament for P117 Segambut, a parliamentary constituency in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur which she contested for in the historic General Elections of 2018 as a Pakatan Harapan candidate.

She was the Speaker of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly from 2013-2018, making her the first woman Speaker and the youngest of any legislative body in Malaysia. Prior to her election into Parliament, she served two terms in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly as the State Assemblyman for the constituency of N31 Subang Jaya (2008-2018).

She holds a Bachelor of Laws and was a practicing lawyer in Australia and Malaysia before venturing into politics. Hannah is married to Ramachandran Muniandy and they are parents to two beautiful girls.

Ben Phillips

Campaigner and writer on development, social justice and power,
Author ‘How to Fight Inequality’

Ben Phillips is the author of How to Fight Inequality. He advises the United Nations, governments and civil society organizations and from across the world.

He has combined the roles of NGO director, political advisor, civil society activist, and writer, on every continent.

He began his development work at the grassroots, as a teacher and ANC activist living in Mamelodi township, South Africa, in 1994, just after the end of apartheid.

He has led programs and campaigns teams in Oxfam, ActionAid, Save the Children, the Children’s Society, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the Global Campaign for Education, and co-founded the Fight Inequality Alliance.

He has been the Hewlett Fellow of Public Policy at the Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame, the Resident Fellow on inequality at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, and the guest lecturer on global inequality for the Cambridge University series and book Capitalism on the Edge.

He has written for the Guardian, the Financial Times, the New Internationalist and Reuters, among others, and appeared regularly on CNN, Al Jazeera and the BBC.

He can be followed @benphillips76

You can order Ben’s new book, How to Fight Inequality, in paperback, hardback or ebook, click Here
– or at your usual bookseller.

You can read Ben’s interview on How to Fight Inequality with Forbes, click Here

He has written for the Guardian, the Financial Times, the New Internationalist and Reuters, among others, and appeared regularly on CNN, Al Jazeera and the BBC.

He can be followed @benphillips76

You can order Ben’s new book, How to Fight Inequality, in paperback, hardback or ebook, click Here
– or at your usual bookseller.

You can read Ben’s interview on How to Fight Inequality with Forbes, click Here

Dr. Melati Nungsari

Assistant Professor of Economics at the Asia School of Business and a Research Affiliate at MIT Sloan School of Management

Dr. Melati Nungsari is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Asia School of Business. She also holds an appointment at MIT Sloan School of Management as a Research Affiliate. She’s a microeconomist whose research is on labor informality, entrepreneurship, and labor market integration of vulnerable groups, such as refugees, undocumented persons, and urban poor.

She has consulted for and worked on research projects with the UN High Commissioner of Refugees, the UN Development Program, and the World Health Organization. She is also the Research Lead for the Rapid Youth Success in Entrepreneurship Program, a Citi-Foundation funded program designed to empower young Malaysians start businesses through business and entrepreneurship training. Before joining ASB, Dr. Melati was an economics professor at Butler University and Davidson College.

Datuk Yasmin Mahmood

Former Chairman, POS Malaysia and Board Member, Malaysian Industrial
Development Finance (MIDF)

Datuk Yasmin Mahmood is a much sought after global thought leader in Digital Economy Transformation, Consultancy, and Implementation throughout the ASEAN region.

Throughout her illustrious career spanning three decades, Datuk Yasmin had served both the Public and Private Sectors, including top leadership positions in Microsoft Malaysia, Hewlett Packard, Dell Asia Pacific, and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation. Presently,
Datuk Yasmin serves in non-executive roles, including as Chair of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Board, Chairman of Skymind Holdings Bhd, the SEA arm of Skymind, a global leader in deep tech Artificial Intelligence (AI).

She also currently serves on the board of Malaysia Industrial Development Finance (MIDF), Bintulu Port Holdings, and Board of Trustee for Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.

Datuk Yasmin has also represented Malaysia and ASEAN at major international events which include the World Economic Forum (WEF), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) as well as having been interviewed by international media such as Forbes, the Economist, CNBC and Bloomberg for her thoughts and insights.

In 2018, Datuk Yasmin was recognised as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in Digital Government by Apolitical, an independent UK-based global network for government which focuses on helping public servants find solutions to issues.

She also currently serves on the board of Malaysia Industrial Development Finance (MIDF), Bintulu Port Holdings, and Board of Trustee for Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.

Jacqueline Fong

Co-Founder, Tanoti Crafts

Jackie holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from University of Bristol, United Kingdom and a Master of Finance (MFin) from RMIT University, Australia. Prior to her venture into social impact causes with Tanoti, she spent 14 years in Investment Banking at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd where she had been based in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and East Malaysia through different periods.

She co-founded Tanoti in 2012 to assume a small workshop of songket weavers which was about to disband when funding had discontinued. From a 13-person weaving atelier 9 years ago, Tanoti today is transformed into a community leader for rural and remote artisans in

Sarawak, engaging directly with 425 producers of crafts and foods – providing them income for their work and helping them to elevate their livelihoods. In June 2021, she was appointed President of Society Atelier Sarawak, where she and her committee intend to build capacities of Sarawakian artisans so that they can generate wealth and contribute positively to the economy.

Jackie firmly believes that every person wishes to build a better life for themselves. Through her work, she intends to facilitate the process and help to manifest their dreams.

Apart from her active roles at Tanoti and Society Atelier Sarawak, she is also a member of the ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and Development Association (AHPADA), National Association of Women Entrepreneurs (NAWEM), Sarawak Chapter, and the ASEAN Women Social Entrepreneurs Network (AWSEN). Over the past two years, Jackie initiated and completed various humanitarian relief projects including the production of PPE for donation to medical frontliners in Sarawak and Sabah, and raising funds to rebuild remote longhouses razed by fire.

Jackie firmly believes that every person wishes to build a better life for themselves. Through her work, she intends to facilitate the process and help to manifest their dreams.

Melisa Melina Idris

Senior Editor, Astro Awani

A journalist with 15 years of experience working in news media – newswires, print, online, radio and television – Melisa is currently Assistant Vice President & Senior Editor at Astro AWANI, where she anchors of several talk shows including “Consider This” & “The Future Is Female”. Prior to her foray into television, she was the Executive Producer & Anchor of the morning drive-time show for business radio station, BFM89.9.

Throughout her career, Melisa has interviewed international thought leaders and newsmakers including: Nobel Prize – winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, theoretical physicist Professor Michio Kaku, the world’s first humanoid Artificial Intelligence SOPHIA the Robot, and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed.

Melisa holds a Master in Journalism from New South Wales University, Sydney, and is an Economics & Public Administration graduate from Universiti Malaya. In 20217, she was a Wolfson Press Fellow with Cambridge University, researching news media in the era of Post-Truth & Disinformation.

Sasibai Kimis

Social Entrepreneur, Earth Heir

Sasibai Kimis left a successful career in the finance industry to start the award-winning, Malaysian conscious lifestyle brand and social enterprise, EARTH HEIR®. Earth Heir’s story began with a desire to create thoughtfully designed, contemporary heritage pieces handcrafted by master artisans in Malaysia. Earth Heir is Fair Trade certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation and works with disappearing heritage art forms handcrafted by women, refugees and indigenous persons.

Earth Heir won the British Council and Arthur Guinness Projects Social Enterprise Award 2015 and Sasibai was one of Wharton’s “40 under 40” award winners in 2015 and an

Eisenhower Fellow in the 2015 Women’s Leadership Program. She is also a Vital Voices Grow 2019 Fellow, and an Asia21 Young Leader 2017 with the Asia Society. She was also recently awarded the Tatler Hero Award 2020.

Prior to Earth Heir, Sasi was a Vice President in the Investments division at Khazanah Nasional (Malaysia), a Director in the Private Equity team at First Avenue Partners LLP (London), worked in Ghana with Opportunities Industrialization Centers International and the United Nations Development Program, and in New York as an Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Sasibai received a B.S in Economics (Finance and Management) cum laude from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an M.Phil in Environment and Development from Cambridge University. She has spoken widely at universities, conferences (such as TEDx) and forums in Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Indonesia, U.K., United States, Switzerland, Japan and Australia.

Anita Ahmad

Lead of Community Development, Yayasan Hasanah

Anita is currently the Lead for Community Development and Humanitarian Disaster Relief in Hasanah Foundation. In this role, she strategizes and implements community based socio-economic interventions with civil society organisation partners in low income urban and rural areas. She also manages funds and coordinates with the government, government linked companies under the banner of the GLC Disaster Response Network (GDRN), and NGOs in responding to humanitarian needs including the current COVID-19 pandemic.

She has 20 years’ experience in different capacities in the non-profit sector including in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Malaysia and the NGO MERCY Malaysia.

At the UN, she supported the Government of Malaysia in developing and advocating policies on gender equality as well as the rights of indigenous people and persons with disabilities. At MERCY, she coordinated and implemented humanitarian projects in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Jordan amongst others.

In 2017, Anita was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship and the John S. Wolf Fellowship during which time she spent two months in the US understanding different organisations’ approaches to community development. She has a masters’ degree in social development (during which time she was awarded the Chevening Scholarship) and a bachelors’ degree in law, from the UK.

DAY 1 – 17 July 2021 – 4.50pm – 5.35pm

Special Session: Learning from the Pandemic

– Weaving in a Social Justice Perspective

The session will explore lessons learned from managing the pandemic and its impact on communities and vulnerable groups towards a more community-centred and inclusive response.

DAY 2 – 18 July 2021 – 9.20am – 10.50am

Special Session: Visioning A Just And Equal Malaysia

A fireside chat with Members of Parliament on their vision and strategies to advance and bolster social justice in Malaysia. The objective of the session is for the leaders to speak to young Malaysians who are key to shaping the future and sustaining the diversity of Malaysia.

YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate; Member of Parliament for Rembau
YB Hannah Yeoh, Former Minister of Women, Family and Community Development; Member of Parliament for Segambut
YB Nurul Izzah Anwar, Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh
Moderator: Melisa Melina Idris, Senior Editor, Astro Awani

DAY 2 – 18 July 2021 – 11.00am – 12.30pm

Special Session: Having An Ear To The Ground:

– Listening To Stories From The Community

This session provides an opportunity for CSO leaders working with diverse communities to share what interventions have worked for them; best practices, and the challenges faced. During the session, CSO leaders will share insights that decision makers- government, foundation, corporate leaders could keep in mind while allocating resources and supporting non-profit and social enterprise ecosystem.

Kon Onn Sein, Director, Foundation for Community Studies and Development (Yayasan Kajian & Pembangunan Masyarakat)
Sasibai Kimis, Social Entrepreneur, Earth Heir
Jacqueline Fong, Co-Founder, Tanoti Crafts
Rashvin Pal Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Biji-Biji Initiative
Moderator: Anita Ahmad, Lead of Community Development, Yayasan Hasanah

DAY 1 – 17 July 2021 – 3.10pm – 4.40pm

Core Panel Sessions: People & Society

The theme will delve into strategies and practices on how to realise bottom-up approaches to engage with communities and grantees. The exploration will be contextualised against opportunities and challenges working in a multi-stakeholder environment. The session will be guided by the following questions:

How do we empower local actors and community leaders to have a more active voice in decision-making?
As donors, how do we strengthen our relationship with grantees and be more inclusive?
How can we advance, and support citizen led actions and movements in the spirit of democracy?
What levers of change, education and knowledge can be used to drive citizen leadership for the better?

DAY 1 – 17 July 2021 – 1030am – 12.00pm

Core Session: People & Institutions

In the business of delivering public good, lines are often blurred between public, private and voluntary sectors where collaboration becomes a given. This theme will explore the internal and external changes and alliances that institutions have built and need to build to bring about changes in the practices, beliefs and underlying values that shape behaviour and actions. The session will be guided by the following questions:

What is the role CSOs, foundations, Government- where do the twain meet?
The role of business in driving SDGs and the Paris Agreement?
How far does the private sector contribute to driving through sustainable business and go beyond short-term CSR projects?

DAY 2 – 18 July 2021 – 3.10pm – 4.40pm

Core Session: People & Leadership

At the helm of greatest of philanthropic ideas are leaders who have shown courage, willingness, capacity, and foresight to drive long-term change often in the face of resistance. This session will explore strategies and ways in which leaders have created systems that actively seek insights and engagement with the communities and partnering on community-based solutions to the biggest of problems. While at the same time, champion innovations to strengthen people, organizations, and communities aspiring towards a shared vision for an equal world. The session will be guided by the following questions:

As leaders, how do we collaborate more effectively to amplify the voice on similar issues of concern?
What capabilities does the sector need and how do we provide for them?
Listening to young leaders and their aspiration for the sector.
What would it take to create leaders who are willing to challenge the status quo and adopt new ways of working and frameworks more suited to 21st century challenges?

Tan Sri Azman Hj. Mokhtar

Founding Director of Yayasan Hasanah

Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar was the Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”), Malaysia’s strategic investment fund from June 2004 to July 2018. Upon retirement from Khazanah, he has been actve in various public service, academic and commercial institutions. Among his current and recent affiliations include as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge (February 2019 to February 2021), Bye-Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge, an Adjunct Professor at UTM, a board member of INCEIF (The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, in Malaysia) and a trustee of the Wawasan Education Foundation in Penang, Malaysia.

In January and April 2021 respectively, he was appointed by the Prime Minister of Malaysia to two high-level national councils chaired by the Prime Minister, namely as a member of the Majlis Kemakmuran Bumiputera (Bumiputera Prosperity Council) and a member of the Majlis Tindakan Kemakmuran Bersama (Shared Prosperity Action Council). Azman is also a board member of MERCY Malaysia, a leading international humanitarian relief organization headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. His international affiliations currently include as a member of the Global Future Council on Investing of the World Economic Forum (Davos), a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Ethical Finance Forum Edinburgh, a member of the Finance and Investment Committee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, a board member of VB Asset Management LLC, a Venture Capital Fund investing in Life Sciences in the United States and an Advisor to The Hive. IV, a Silicon Valley based Technology Venture Capital fund. In early 2020, he co-founded Fitrah Capital Associates, a financial and strategy advisory firm incorporated in the United Arab Emirates. He is also a board member of MyKar Berhad, a homegrown Malaysian-developed electric car vehicle company.