YBHG. TAN SRI DATO’ SRI AR. ESA HJ MOHAMED – JURY CHAIRMAN

Tan Sri Ar. Esa Mohamed is the founder and Executive Chairman of Akitek Jururancang Malaysia Sdn Bhd (AJM) and AJM Planning and Urban Design Group Sdn Bhd (APUDG), responsible for several major notable masterplan projects such as the Subang Jaya Township, Kuala Lumpur Master Plan, the Desaru Coast Resort, University Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Pagoh University City, Putrajaya Administrative Capital City, TRX Financial Centre Masterplan, and works in Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Tatarstan, Africa and Saudi Arabia. Notable architectural projects include the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Langkawi International Airport, the Datai Hotel Langkawi, Mid-Valley City Mall, Sunway Pyramid Commercial Complex, Desaru Coast Westin Hotel and Conference Centre, KLCC Convention Centre, the Sungai Buloh Hospital and Training College, UiTM Medical Faculty, Pagoh Education Hub and the University Malaysia Pahang.

Received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2001, the Construction Industry Player of the Year Award by CIDB (2002) and the Professional Excellence Award in Engineering, Construction & Property from BIM (2013), amongst others. He received the Honorary Doctor of Architecture by the University of Newcastle, Aust. (2005), Board of Architects Malaysia President’s Medal and the Malaysian Institute of Architects PAM Gold Medal (2016).

Tan Sri Esa is the Immediate Past President of the International Union of Architects (UIA), Past President of Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Past Chairman of ARCASIA, board member of the Board of Architects Malaysia (LAM), co-Chairman of Malaysian National Professional Services Export Council (NAPSEC), member of the Board of Architects Malaysia and Chairman of the Malaysia Monitoring Committees of APEC and ASEAN Architect.

AR. CHRIS VAN DUIJN

Chris van Duijn became partner in 2014 and is leading OMA’s work in Asia. Joining the practice in 1996, he has been involved in many of OMA’s most renowned projects including Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the Prada stores in New York and Los Angeles (2001), Casa da Musica in Porto (2005), and the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012).

In addition to large-scale and complex projects, he has worked on interiors and small-scale structures, including private houses, product design, and temporary structures such as the Prada Transformer in Seoul (2009). Recently completed projects include the Bibliothèque Alexis de Tocqueville in Caen, France (2017), Fondazione Prada in Milan (2015), and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2015).

Current projects in Asia include the Hanwha Galleria Department Store in Seoul, two towers on the former Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong, two high-rise projects in Xiamen and Hangzhou, and the Columbia Circle masterplan, a large-scale preservation project in Shanghai. He is also leading the design of the Jean Jacques Bosc Bridge in Bordeaux; the construction of the Axel Springer Campus in Berlin and the Parc des Expositions in Toulouse. Chris holds a Master of Architecture from the Technical University of Delft.

AR. KAZUYO SEJIMA

Born in Ibaraki, Japan, Kazuyo Sejima received the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize alongside Ryue Nishizawa, both co-founders of SANAA which opened in 1995. Currently, Ms. Sejima also serves as a Jury member of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. She is a professor at Polytechnic University of Milan; University of Applied Arts Vienna; Keio University, Tokyo; Yokohama Graduate School of Architecture Y-GSA; and a visiting professor at Japan Women’s University, Tokyo.

Ms. Sejima was appointed the Director of the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010, and was named Japan Institute of Architects’ Young Architect of the Year in Japan in 1992. She has taught at various institutions including Princeton University and Polytechnique de Lausanne. She joined the office of 2013 Pritzker Laureate Toyo Ito upon completing her architectural studies at Japan Woman’s University in 1981 and opened Kazuyo Sejima & Associates in Tokyo in 1987.

Her own works include House in Plum Grove (Tokyo) and Inujima Art House Project (Okayama). Notable works of SANAA consist of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Kanazawa); the Rolex Learning Center (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne); the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York; the Louvre-Lens, France; Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion in Toledo, Ohio; and Grace Farms, New Canaan.

DR. SERINA ABDUL RAHMAN

Dr Serina is a Visiting Fellow under the Malaysia Studies Programme and the Regional Economic Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, where she examines issues of sustainable development, rural politics and the economics of the environment. By training, Serina is a conservation scientist and environmental anthropologist. Her research interests lie in marine communities; fishermen, flora and fauna; as well as their interaction and preservation. Her practice is in community empowerment, marine habitat conservation and innovations for inclusive development. She also dabbles in matters of faith, language, ethnicity and cultural preservation.

Serina is the co-founder of Kelab Alami, a community organisation in a fishing village in southwest Johor that was launched in 2009 to empower the community through environmental education for habitat conservation. Today Kelab Alami works to ensure that the local community is able to participate in and benefit from the surrounding development through multi-stakeholder engagement, citizen science and community ecotourism. Serina won the Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Award for Environmental Protection in 2014 (Individual) and is Citizen Science Asia’s Malaysian Ambassador.

Her PhD in Science was awarded by UiTM Shah Alam, with co-supervision from Universiti Malaya. She has a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics (University of Wales, Cardiff) and a Business Marketing Bachelor’s Degree (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore). Serina has worked as a Research Fellow at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies (NTU, Singapore), as the Director of UMCares (UM Community Engagement and Sustainability Centre) and as a Content Programmer at Discovery Networks Asia. She was also a qualified English teacher under the Ministry of Education, Singapore. Serina has several academic and other publications on environmental citizenship, coastal zone management, (un)sustainable development, socio-economic valuation of marine habitats and rural politics in Malaysia.

YBHG. DATO' ABDUL RAZAK BIN JAAFAR

Dato’ Abdul Razak helms the civil service in Penang, assuming the post of State Secretary (Setiausaha Kerajaan) of Penang on 8 November 2019. He started his career at the Seremban Municipal Council as a Public Communications Officer in 1988 before joining the Administrative and Diplomatic Service of Malaysia in 1991. In 1992, he was appointed as the Assistant Director, Federal Special Task Force of the National Security Council, Prime Ministers Department, Sandakan Branch, Sabah. In 1996, he served as the Head of Internal Audit and Public Complaints Division at the Selangor State Secretariat. In 1998, he became the Assistant Secretary, Services Division, Selangor State Secretariat then in 2000, he took up the post of Assistant Secretary for Scholarships and Training.

He was appointed as the Director of the Community Development Department of the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council in 2002. From 2003, he served for two years as the Director, Corporate Planning Unit of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council. Then in 2006, he became the Director of the Corporate Planning Department, Sepang Municipal Council for a period of three years. In 2009, he helmed the Kuala Langat District Council as the President. On 1 January 2012, he served as a Diplomatic and Administrative Officer at the Pensions Services Division, Public Services Department for nine months. Following that, he headed the Safety, Housing, Local authorities and Land Development Section, Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAPS), Prime Ministers Department for six months. In April 2013, he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of Procurement Division, Ministry of Defence for a period of six months. On 23 September 2013, he was promoted as the Under Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Defence, serving two years. He was appointed the Deputy Chief Secretary (Policies and Development) of the Works Ministry in 2015.

PROF. DR. IR. BAS JONKMAN

S.N. (Bas) Jonkman is a professor of Hydraulic Engineering at Delft University, the Netherlands. He holds the chair of Integral Hydraulic Engineering, which focuses on research and education in the fields of hydraulic structures and flood risk. He holds a PhD from TU Delft and has worked for the Dutch government, Royal Haskoning DHV and UC Berkeley. He is an advisor for Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch government), a member of the Dutch Expertise Network on Flood Protection (ENW) and is the chairman of the hydraulic engineering department of the Dutch association of engineers (KIVI). His research interests include flood risk management, land reclamation and the integral design of hydraulic infrastructure, such as flood defences and storm surge barriers. He has been involved in post-disaster and design studies in the Netherlands, New Orleans, Houston, Mozambique and various countries in South East Asia. Dr. Jonkman is currently leading a number of national and European research projects focusing on climate adaptation and strategies for flood risk reduction, including storm surge barriers and nature-based solutions.

MR. ALI SALMAN

Ali Salman is CEO of Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), a leading independent think tank of Malaysia. He is also CEO of Islam and Liberty Network, a global platform for researchers and academics working on Islam and freedom. Earlier, he founded Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME), a policy think tank in Pakistan in 2013.

Ali has worked in the government, private sector, think tanks, and universities for more than 20 years in diverse management, research, advisory and teaching roles. Ali has remained actively engaged with the government as an economist and public policy expert, while working on competition, public utilities and youth policy. As a consultant, Ali authored several independent studies, reports and monographs on industrial policy, regional trade, public finance, and youth policy including a study “Lessons from Cyberjaya: Malaysia’s Promised Silicon Valley”.

Ali Salman holds master degrees in Economics, Public Policy and Business Administration and is recipient of Fulbright Scholarship, Royal Netherlands Fellowship and Charles Wallace Fellowship.

PROF HANIF KARA

Prof. Hanif Kara is co-founder and Design Director of AKT II, a design-led structural and civil engineering firm based in London and Professor in Practice of Architectural technology at GSD Harvard. He was the first engineer to be appointed on the Steering Committee for the highly regarded international AKAA (Aga Khan Award for Architecture). Hanif currently sits on the UK National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Task Force and Expert Advisory Group and is a member of the HS2 design review panel. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Institution of Civil and Structural Engineers and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Hanif’s particular ‘design-led’ approach and interest in innovative forms, pushing material uses, sustainable construction and complex analysis methods, have allowed him to work at the forefront of the many challenges facing the built environment. This leads AKT II to being associated with the most innovative construction projects, winning over 350 design awards over the last two decades including the Stirling Prize on three occasions, the latest being in 2018 for the Bloomberg Headquarters as UK’s Best New Building, a project also accredited as the most sustainable office building in the world.

He has also contributed to a number of widely published works including ‘Design Engineering’, 2008, a retrospective of AKT’s first decade, and ‘Interdisciplinary Design: New Lessons from Architecture and Engineering’, 2012, co-published with Harvard. His most recent publications are ‘Design Engineering Refocused’ and the ‘Architecture of Waste’.

YBHG. DATO’ LOO LEE LIAN

Dato’ Loo is the Chief Executive Officer of Invest-in-Penang Bhd (investPenang) since 2010. As the principal investment promotion agency and a wholly-owned company of the state of Penang, investPenang is the point of contact for investors, providing facilitation support to foreign and local businesses as well as policy advocacy.

At state level, Dato’ Loo is a member of the KPI Task Force of the Penang Development Corporation, a committee overseeing the operation and management of the Penang state economic development corporation. She is also a member of the Selection Committee of the Penang Future Foundation, the State Government’s scholarship program for undergraduate studies. As an ardent supporter of development programs for young entrepreneurs and start-ups, Dato’ Loo is a council member of the Penang Accelerator for Creative, Analytics and Technology (Penang@CAT).

Dato’ Loo has more than 20 years of industry background in the various sectors of the manufacturing industry. She has led companies in strategic planning, project management, operations, business development, supply chain management, customer strategies and international business migration. She also speaks in corporate conferences and community seminars focusing on job diversity, women empowerment and youth education programs. Born in Penang, Dato’ Loo graduated with Bachelor of Economics & Accounting from University of Adelaide, South Australia and received her Master of Business Administration from the University of South Australia.