International Symposium: EU-ASEAN at 45: From Dialogue Partnership to Strategic Partnership

Prof Dato’ Dr Rajah Rasiah obtained his doctorate in economics from Cambridge University in 1992, and served as a fellow at Harvard University in 2014. He was also Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at UNIMAS in 1999-2000, and at Faculty of Economics and Administration in University of Malaya in 2009–2010 and 2013–2014. He also holds professorial fellow positions at the Centre for Rising Powers in Cambridge University, UNU-MERIT, and Technology Management and Development Centre in Oxford University. Among his prestigious awards include the Cambridge Journal of Economics Award by the Cambridge Political Economy Trust in 1992, the Robert McNamara Award by the World Bank in 1993, the Celso Furtado Prize for advancing the frontiers of Social Science thought (Economics) from the World Academy of Sciences in 2014, and the Merdeka Prize under the category of scholastic achievement in 2018 from the Merdeka Prize Committee. He was awarded the Distinguished Professor of Economics Position by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia in 2017.

Born in September 1964 in Athens, Greece, H.E. Michalis Rokas is the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia. Ambassador Rokas has twenty-six years experience in the field of foreign affairs having joined the European Commission External Relations Directorate General in 1994. His prior postings include Chargé d’Affaires a.i. and Head of EU Delegation to New Zealand, First secretary of the European Commission’s Office in Hong Kong and Macau, Head of the Support to Delegations Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Deputy and Head of the China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mongolia Division at the EEAS. Ambassador Rokas holds a bachelor degree in Economics and a postgraduate degree in European Economics. Ambassador Rokas’ mother tongue is Greek and he speaks English, French and German.

Dato’ Zanariah Zainal Abidin joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia in 1995. Dato’ Zanariah has served in the Regional Economic Cooperation Division, Southeast Asia Division, Maritime Department, ASEAN Department, Multilateral Security Division and Multilateral Political Division. Dato’ Zanariah has also served at the Embassies of Malaysia in Santiago, Chile, and Caracas, Venezuela as well as Permanent Mission of Malaysia to ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia. Her last post abroad was as the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Czech Republic. Dato’ Zanariah assumed the post of Director General of the ASEAN – Malaysia National Secretariat in August 2021.

Professor Shaliza Ibrahim is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Universiti Malaya and founding President of the Malaysia Association for Research Managers and Administrators (MyRMA). As a keen researcher in the field of Chemical Engineering with a decade of experience in managing research processes, she sees the importance of professional research management which includes research data management (RDM). She was Director of the Malaysian Research Management and Governance (MRMG) project in which research data curation was one of the focus areas, along with research impact, full economic costing, and professional research management. The establishment of a platform for research data sharing was a recommendation from the MRMG project. At UM she has been involved in the UM Open Science policy and setting up of the research data repository. She is a member of the Malaysia Open Science Alliance and the Capacity Building and Awareness Working Group under the Malaysia Open Science Platform (MOSP). She is an instructor for the Research Management and RDM module in the training-of-trainers for data stewardship and is proposing a continuing professional development (CPD) programme for data stewards to develop and update their professional knowledge and skills.

Dr Rahul Mishra is the Director, Centre for ASEAN Regionalism Universiti Malaya (CARUM), and Coordinator of the European Studies Programme at the Asia-Europe Institute. He is also the Managing Editor of AEI Insights journal. Dr Mishra specialises in politico-security affairs of the Southeast and East Asian region, ASEAN-EU regionalism, comparative regionalism, and the role of major & middle powers in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the context of China’s rise. Prior to this, he was a Consultant with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. He has also worked with the ICWA and the IDSA for four years each. Recipient of the Asia Fellowship of the East-West Center in Washington D.C., Korean and the Australian Government Fellowships, he was previously affiliated with the RSIS (NTU) and NUS as well. He is a columnist with Deutsche Welle, Germany, and has published with the Japan Times, Financial Times, Channel NewsAsia, New Straits Times, Jakarta Post, Asia Times, Indian Express, The Sunday Guardian, Deccan Herald, The Star (Malaysia, Kenya), ASPI, RUSI, Lowy Institute, and, Mint, etc., and appeared on news media including the BBC, Deutsche Welle, CCTV, Channel NewsAsia, Phoenix TV, CNBC, Astro Awani, and Bernama, etc. latest publications: Asia and Europe in the 21st century: new anxieties, new opportunities (Routledge), and India’s Eastward Engagement from Antiquity to Act East Policy (SAGE)
Twitter: @rahulmishr_
email:rahul.seas@gmail.com

Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid began his career in the Judicial and Legal Service as a magistrate in 1970 and was appointed President of the Sessions Court in 1971. He then pursued a career in the financial and banking sector locally and internationally from 1972 to 1986. In the years 1986 to 1990, he became a partner in the law firm of Albar, Zulkifly and Yap. He was a Member of Parliament from 1990 to 2013, during which time he held various ministerial positions including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Minister of Justice, Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and most notably, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid’s last held position was Chairman of the Land Public Transport Commission of Malaysia (SPAD), from 2010 to 2017. Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid holds a Barrister-at-Law degree from the Middle Temple, U.K. and was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1974. He also holds a Masters Degree in Human Sciences (Political Science) from International Islamic University Malaysia and a PhD in International Relations from Asia e University, Kuala Lumpur. Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid is currently the Chancellor of Asia e University and he is also an adjunct professor of three (3) universities, namely, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Melaka (UNIMEL) as well as Chairman of the OIC Study Group (OICSG). In recognition of his services to the nation, Tan Sri Dr. Syed Hamid was conferred the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) by the King of Malaysia which carries the title "Tan Sri", in 2009.

Tan Sri Jawhar began his career in the Government. He was Executive Secretary, Border Security Committee, Malaysia/Thailand; Principal Assistant Secretary, National Security Council; Director, Analysis, Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department; Under-Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; and Director General, Department of National Unity. He also served as Counselor in Malaysia’s missions in Jakarta and Bangkok. He retired early from government service and joined ISIS Malaysia as Deputy Director-General in May 1990. He eventually assumed the position of Chairman and Chief Executive and retired as Chairman of ISIS Malaysia on 8 January 2015. Tan Sri Jawhar was also Chairman, The New Straits Times Press. He is Board Member, Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS); Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR); Distinguished Fellow, Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS); and Fellow, Institute of Public Security of Malaysia (IPSOM), Ministry of Home Affairs. He was also Senior Advisor, Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya. Tan Sri Jawhar was Malaysia’s Expert and Eminent Person (EEP) for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). He is a Member of the Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Tan Sri Jawhar was Chair, ASEAN ISIS; Co-Chair, Network of East Asia Think-tanks (NEAT) 2005-2006; Chairman, Malaysian National Committee, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) 2006-2010; and Co-Chair, Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) 2007-2009.

Mr. Milan Hupcej is a career diplomat with over 35 years‘ experience in the Czech foreign service. He took his appointment as the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Malaysia in January 2019. He is also accredited to Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Kiribati. Prior to this, Mr. Hupcej was Czech Ambassador to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2014-2018). He previously served in Beijing as Deputy Head of Mission (1992-93), in Seoul as Head of Mission/Chargé d’Affaires a.p. (1993-2000), in Shanghai as Consul General (2004-2008) and in Bangkok as Trade Representative with accreditation for Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia (2011-2014). On his return to the Foreign Ministry Headquarters, he served as Head of Far East and Pacific Division (2000-2004) and as senior analyst in the Policy Planning Department (2008-2011). Mr. Hupcej was educated at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MA, International Relations and Korean Studies) and University of Economics in Prague (Post gradual studies, International economic relations). He speaks English, Russian and Korean.

Anggia Utami Dewi is a faculty member in Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia. She completed her bachelor degree in Political Science (International Relations) in the university where she teaches now, and received her master degree in International Studies from Seoul National University, Republic of Korea. In August 2022, she completed her doctoral training and received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education from Seoul National University too. Her research interests include higher education studies, globalization studies, and international migration. Since 2016, she is acted as an editorial team member of Intermestic: Journal of International Studies, a peer-reviewed academic journal on the field of international studies.

Dr. Johan Saravanamuttu is a Malaysian political scientist and international relations specialist with a wide international reputation. He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University and was an Adjunct Professor at Asia Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya in 2020-2021. Dr. Johan was also previously professor of political science at the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang where he served as Dean from 1994-1996, Thereafter in 1997, he was the Visiting Chair in ASEAN and International Studies at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto. His published works include the first major study of Malaysia’s foreign policy (1983), ASEAN regional non-governmental organizations (1986), and The Nexus Between Industrialization And The Institutionalization Of Authoritarian Regimes In Southeast Asia (1991). His recent books include “Power Sharing in a Divided Nation: Communalism and Politics in Six Decades of Malaysia’s Elections (2016)”, “Malaysia’s Foreign Policy, the First Fifty Years: Alignment, Neutralism, Islamism (2010)” and “Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia (2009)”. Dr. Johan Saravanamuttu obtained his Ph.D from the University of British Columbia after his M.A. from the University of British Columbia and B.S.Sc. from University of Singapore. His Area of Specialisation are Malaysian Politics & Foreign Relations, Southeast Asian Politics, Southeast Asian Regionalism, Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia.

HE Igor Driesmans has served as the EU Ambassador to ASEAN since 2019. He was previously a Member of the Cabinet of Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission. His responsibilities included Asia and Pacific, Cultural Diplomacy, Transport and Fisheries. He previously served as Principal Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (2014), Desk Officer for ASEAN (2013-2014), and Deputy Head of the Political, Economic, Trade and Information Section of the EU Delegation to South Africa (2009-2013). Ambassador Igor Driesmans has been an official of the EU since 2003. He holds a Masters in History from University of Gent (Belgium).

Roy Anthony Rogers is Deputy Executive Director (Research & Internationalisation) at the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya and an Associate Professor with the Department of Strategic and International Studies, University of Malaya, having joined the department in 2001. Served as the Head of Department from 2012 till September 2020. He has a Master in Strategic and Defence Studies (M.SDS) from the University of Malaya. He has also taught at the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College (MAFSC) and the Malaysian Defence Armed Forces College (MDAF). In 2012 he obtained Ph.D. from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and his research interest are government and politics of the Central Asian republics and human rights conditions in Xinjiang. His area of specialization includes Political Science, International Relations (Theories of International Relations) and History (China and Central Asia). He has been invited by the Institute of Diplomatic and Foreign Relations (IDFR) Malaysia to lecture at the Diplomatic Training Course for ASEAN Attachment Officers. He is one of the Media Resource Persons for Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM), Sinar Harian and Astro Awani. Received the Excellence Service Award in 2016, 2008 from the University of Malaya, International Visitor (IV) from the US State Department in 2006.

Dr Paul Gillespie is a senior research fellow in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin. His research interests are in European integration, comparative regionalism in Europe and Asia and Irish-British relations. A visiting lecturer on comparative regionalism in the University of Malaya 2016-2019, he contributed a chapter, ‘Europe and the Indo-Pacific concept’, to Asia and Europe in the 21st Century, New Anxieties, New Opportunities ed. Rahul Mishra, Azirah Hashim and Anthony Milner (Routledge 2021). He is a columnist on international affairs with The Irish Times, of which he was previously foreign editor. He directs the Constitutional Futures after Brexit project in the Centre for Peace and Conflict Research (formerly the Institute for British-Irish Studies) in University College Dublin.

Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Kamal Salih, born in 1946, graduated with B.A. (Hons) (Monash) and PhD (Uni. Pennsylvania) in 1973. Served Universiti Sains Malaysia between 1973-85 as Professor, Dean and Deputy VC (Academic). He was the founding Executive Director of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) 1986-1994. As a policy advisor Tan Sri Kamal was a member of the Prime Minster’s Economic Panel in 1981-86, the Malaysian Business Council 1991-1996, and acted as the Rapporteur-General of the first National Economic Consultative Council, MAPEN1 1989- 1991. In 1992 he established the first private medical college in Malaysia, the International Medical University (IMU) and remained its Executive Chairman until 2004. On retiring from IMU, Tan Sri Kamal served as economic advisor on the National Implementation Task Force (NITF) in the Abdullah Badawi Admin 2006-08. He was elected Member of Parliament for Wangsa Maju from 1996 to 1999. In 1996 he established Yayasan Wangsa Maju now known as Yayasan Mahkota, and remains its Chairman until now.

Mr. Muhammad Faizal Bin Abdul Rahman is a Research Fellow with the Regional Security Architecture Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. He holds a Master of Science (Strategic Studies) degree from RSIS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Prior to RSIS, he served many years in the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security Coordination Secretariat where he headed teams in the roles of intelligence analysis, national security analysis, and international relations. He also served a stint in the Ministry of Communications and Information where he focused on the intersection of digital security and geopolitics. His current research interests include the implications of diplomatic, informational, military, and cyber issues on regional security in the Indo-Pacific.

Kasit Piromya is a Thai diplomat, Democrat Party politician, and former People's Alliance for Democracy activist. He was Foreign Minister of Thailand under Abhisit Vejjajiva from 2008 to 2011. He has served as the ambassador to the Soviet Union and Mongolia, Russia and the former Soviet republics, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

Dr. Kevin Fernandez is a fellow at the Asia-Europe Institute at the University of Malaya in addition to serving as a senior lecturer at the Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Malaya. Prior to that, he spent five years working at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan. Dr. Fernandez's primary area of study interest is in new media and political mobilisation, specifically the ways in which it may both encourage and weaken democracies. He is also interested in researching non-traditional security threats that are prevalent in Southeast Asian countries. He worked as a consultant for the Southeast Asia Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), and the organisation sent him to undergo training on the subject of preventing violent extremism in East Timor Leste, Guam, and Washington, D.C. In addition to writing academic journal articles, chapters in books and other forms of popular reading such as the New Mandala and RSIS Commentaries, he is the author of a book titled Rallies, Propaganda, and Democracy: New Media in Malaysia.

Oliver Roche graduated as a Quantity Surveyor from Limerick Institute of Technology in 1994 and immediately immigrated to Chicago in the USA. After a short stint with an estimating firm he joined Turner Construction Company and worked for them in various capacities for 19 years in multiple locations -- USA, Qatar, Vietnam and Malaysia. In 2014 Oliver started his own business in Kuala Lumpur and currently has 20+ staff with completed or ongoing projects including HSBC Malaysia HQ at TRX, KL Sports City Development at Bukit Jalil, Air Asia HQ KLIA2, Menara Hap Seng 3 and others. In 2017 Oliver became Chairman of ICCM. In December 2019 Oliver was appointed as Chairman of EUMCCI which has been rebranded as EUROCHAM and resigned from his role as Chairman of ICCM, although remaining as a board member.

Dr. Seun Sam is a Policy Analyst at the Royal Academy of Cambodia. He is also a fellow of the American Political Science Association (APSA) and a member of the Meridian International Center's international committee, both of which are based in Washington, DC, USA. Dr. Sam was nominated to participate in the US Government's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) during the 50th Anniversary of the US Peace Corps in 2011, and he has spent seven years for volunteerism. He is also a part-time lecturer on geopolitics and geo-economics at the Royal Academy of Cambodia and Khemarak University in Phnom Penh, in addition to his work at the Royal Academy of Cambodia. He has also frequently contributed his articles to Khmer Times, Cambdianess, South China Morning Post, and other local media. Dr. Sam is a Cambodian native who earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Khemarak University in Phnom Penh city, Cambodia.

Dr. Maria Thaemar C. Tana is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines Diliman. She obtained her Ph.D. in Japanese Studies from the National University of Singapore and her MA in International Studies, major in European Studies, from De la Salle University. Her research interests center on Japan-Southeast Asia relations, Japanese foreign policy, regional security, peacebuilding, and human security.

Yanitha Meena Louis is a researcher in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme at the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. She completed an International Masters in European Regional Integration at the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya. Having spent a decade in Chennai, India, Meena completed a BSc in Psychology at the University of Madras. She works on South Asia, including Malaysia's bilateral ties with South Asian countries, South Asia's regional dynamics and the region's relationship with Asean. Her research interests also include political psychology and comparative regionalism. Meena is now a doctoral candidate at Universiti Malaya, focused on non-Western international relations.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram is Senior Adviser at the Khazanah Research Institute. He is also Fellow of the Academy of Science, Malaysia, Emeritus Professor at the University of Malaya, Visiting Fellow at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University, and Visiting Professor at the International Islamic University in Malaysia. He was a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Action Council, and the 5-member Council of Eminent Persons appointed by him. He was also Professor at the University of Malaya (1986-2004), independent member of the National Economic Consultative Council (1989-1991), President of the Malaysian Social Science Association, Founding Convener of the International Malaysian Studies Conference, Founder-Chair of International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs), UN Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development (2005-2012), Assistant Director General for Economic and Social Development, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2012-2015) and third Tun Hussein Onn Chair in International Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia (2016-2017). He received the 2007 Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

Born in April 1978 in Norden, Germany. Mr Timo Goosmann has joined the team of the EU Delegation to Malaysia in September 2021. He has previously served as a diplomat for the Federal Foreign Office of Germany between 2009 and 2021. He has previously been posted to Quito and Jakarta. In Berlin, Mr. Goosmann has worked on cultural diplomacy and on the Venezuela desk. Before joining the German Federal Foreign Office, he worked as business consultant, university lecturer and in a think tank. He studied EU Integration Studies in Osnabrück (Germany) and Latin American Studies in Salamanca (Spain). Mr Goosmann’s mother tongue is German, and he speaks English, Spanish, French and (a bit) Bahasa Indonesia.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Stoffers studied social sciences and economics with a focus on International Relations and completed his PhD on German – Thai relations. Andreas has many years of practical management experience in banking in the areas of sales organization, sales management, leadership of strategic projects and business development in Southeast Asia and Germany. As a long-time member of Deutsche Bank AG Vietnam Executive Board, he was responsible for successful market intelligence and opening up of new markets. Since 2014, Andreas is Professor of International Management at the International University / SDI Munich. Moreover, he is Visiting Professor at Vietnamese-German University VGU in Binh Duong and at University of Economics and Business UEB/VNU Hanoi. In December 2019, Andreas became director of Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom, Vietnam (FNF) in Hanoi. Andreas is in particular working on international (economic) relations between the EU and ASEAN in general and between Germany and Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia in specific.

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-stoffers/

Ms Haenni holds a degree in Law from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Throughout her career she has gone back and forth between conceptual work and concrete implementation on the ground in the fields of international humanitarian law, human rights and peace building. Ms Haenni is also a certified Master Trainer. Her working experience spans international organisations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), INGOs such as the Association for the Prevention of Torture, UN and government for the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs. She has also worked for several years as an independent consultant. Her field work has taken her to Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname and Colombia, South and Eastern Africa, Central Asia, and Thailand. She was posted in the Embassy of Switzerland in Myanmar in September 2012, where she worked with the parties in helping them prepare for the negotiations which led to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2015. In 2018, she left the Embassy of Switzerland and was seconded as a Senior Political Advisor to the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General on Myanmar until 2020. Ms Haenni founded her own structure, Bridging-Changes in 2020 and returned to Thailand at the end of 2020, where she has been living in Chiang Mai. She currently is involved in working with young leaders and young people working with leaders in Myanmar.

Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman is the current MP for Muar Parliament. He is the co-founder and the current President for Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) party. He was the youngest cabinet member at the age of 26 years old and was the former Minister of Youth and Sports. He had initiated the UNDI18 bill in which had lowered the voting age had been passed through the amendment of the Federal Constitution in 2019.