Brunei Alumni

Spring 2023

Ms. Norsyamimi Ramli

Spring 2022

Mr. Nor Ariwwin Mohd Ali

Spring 2020

Colonel (U) Haji Haszahaidi bin Haji Ahmad Daud
Ms. Masridah Mahmud

Spring 2019

Ms. Safarah Jamaludin
Mr. Nisar Ahmad

Spring 2018

Ms. Nadiah Abu Bakar
Mr. Tuan Badrul Hisham T. Jusoh

Spring 2017

Mr. Dimang Chhann
Mr. Shahrul Othman
Capt. Zil Husam Abd Rahman
Ms. Maslina Said

Spring 2016

Ms. Anastasia Kotylo
Mr. Asme Amit

Fall 2015

Ms. Khin Nilar Soe

Spring 2015

Mr. Sinhow Chin
Ms. Evgenia Likhovtseva
Mr. John Lim
Ms. Siti Diana Othman

Spring 2023

Ms. Norsyamimi Ramli currently serves as a Special Duties Officer at the Prime Minister's Office in Brunei, where she is responsible for planning and coordinating the implementation of the agency's strategies. She coordinates resources and identifies opportunities for service improvements. She has led successful restructuring initiatives and managed the setup of Delivery Units for each ministry to monitor the execution of their strategic initiatives, as part of the Civil Service Framework aimed at transforming the civil service. As a member of the Secretariat of the National COVID-19 Steering Committee, Ms. Norsyamimi provided insightful analysis and situational reports, playing a critical role in the implementation of the national COVID-19 Recovery Framework. Ms. Norsyamimi holds a bachelor's degree in economics with honors from the University of Brunei Darussalam and is currently enrolled in their Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) with a semester in the Masters of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley. She is proud to be part of the Public Policy School community of passionate individuals dedicated to making positive change in the world.

Spring 2022

Mr. Nor Ariwwin Mohd Ali, Commander, under the Royal Brunei Navy and is an executive officer specializing in ships communication, long navigation and principal warfare. Throughout his service, he has held various positions within the Royal Brunei Navy, from junior to senior executive roles. In addition, he has been involved in numerous initiatives in enhancing and supplementing the Royal Brunei Navy Fleet assets and capabilities. Currently, he holds the responsibilities of ensuring health and safety at the workplace and compliance to the highest standards within the various branches of operations. He is presently pursuing his Master's in Public Policy and Management with the Institute of Policy Studies, University of Brunei Darussalam.

Spring 2020

Colonel (U) Haji Haszahaidi bin Haji Ahmad Daud has served for the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) for over 26 years. He was enlisted in 1994 for Basic Military Training and sent to the United Kingdom in 1995 for Initial Officer Training. Upon completion, he earned Second Lieutenant and pursued his flying career. He became a Qualified Helicopter Instructor in 2003. The following year, he participated in the Defence Executive Development Program on Public Policy and Management for senior government officials, offered by the Lew Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He attended other several executive courses such as the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) Executive Development Workshop Series in Strategic Foresight and Strategic Planning in Brunei Darussalam in 2017. In July of 2019, he was promoted to full Colonel rank. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy and Management at the Institute of Policy Studies, University Brunei Darussalam and University of California Berkeley.

Ms. Masridah Mahmud has served as a Municipal Officer at the Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Department, in the Ministry of Home Affairs since 2015. Currently, she is managing the Bandar Seri Begawan Development Master Plan that involves cross-sectoral coordination in the public sector. Her nature of work requires robust urban planning policy to ensure that the city master plan projects are being implemented into place accordingly. She graduated in with a B.S.c. in environmental science at the University of York, United Kingdom. She also participated in the Fall 2017 Youth South East Asia Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) Environmental Professional Fellowship in Washington D.C. Her fellowship experience in engaging the Sustainable D.C. Plan spurred her interest to enroll in a postgraduate program at Universiti Brunei Darussalam under the Master of Public Policy and Management. She is in pursuit of a public policy discipline with the aim to formulate better urban planning policy for sustainable city development.

Spring 2019 Fellows

Ms. Safarah Jamaludin is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Policy and Management at the Institute of Policy Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Professionally, she works as a Special Duties Officer at the Research and Planning Division, Public Service Department, Prime Ministers’ Office of the Government of Brunei Darussalam. Safarah is involved in the formulation of policies related to human resources of the country’s public service. Prior to joining the Public Service Department, Safarah performed duties as a Diplomatic Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brunei. She attended various meetings and conferences abroad to discuss issues of mutual concern. She was responsible for producing political and security reports, briefs, and speeches for the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Safarah’s interests include social media governance: specifically on policies that encourages the use of social media as an effective platform in the Government’s continued engagement with the general public.

Mr. Nisar Ahmad is an Afghan national, and a student of the MPPM programme at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). His Bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration, with a major in Human Resources Management from the University of Peshawar Pakistan. After graduation, he was recruited at the Human Resources Management Department of a private company in Kabul, Zalandsarsabz.ltd, and worked as a Human Resources Assistant for two years. Among his many responsibilities and duties, he was assigned such tasks as conducting performance assessment of employees, providing assistance in hiring and firing, provide training of employees, and managing the payroll of staff members. During his studies, he took the initiative to work part time and became a teacher in a private school for almost 3 years. He taught different subjects like English, Mathematics and Physics to school children, in order to supplement his living costs and gain experience. During that time, he received several awards and acknowledgements for his contributions to the school, such as ‘Best Teacher of the Year’. He believes that getting admission and scholarship to study at UBD has been one of the most momentous events in his life so far, and being part of the Goldman School of Public Policy is a great honor and achievement as well. He hopes for a great future in building a career, and wishes to contribute back to his family as well as his beloved country, Afghanistan. He takes particular interest in tackling the issues of harassment and women’s rights in his country, and has chosen this topic as his capstone project at UBD, with an aim to formulate and propose key policy options to address the issue of street level harassment.

Spring 2018 Fellows

Ms. Nadiah Abu Bakar is a trained economist with 8 years of experience in international relations and macroeconomic analysis. She currently serves as a Finance Officer at the Research & International Division of the Ministry of Finance Brunei Darussalam. Her responsibilities include managing international relations and conducting macroeconomic analyses toward informing and advising international economic and financial policies for the Ministry of Finance. She has headed portfolios for several international organizations, including ASEAN+3, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Previously she was a member of an ad-hoc think tank group in the Ministry of Finance from 2010 to 2012 and a Public Finance Reform Taskforce from 2012 to 2017. She graduated from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom with a BSc in Economics and Finance in 2009 and pursued a Master’s program in Public Policy and Management at the Institute of Policy Studies, University Brunei Darussalam.

Mr. Tuan Badrul Hisham T. Jusoh has work experience in various private sector industries ranging from finance to procurement. In 2004, he joined Malaysian Civil Service as an administrative and diplomatic officer and received his diploma in Public Administration from National Institute of Public Administration Malaysia in 2009. He began his career in public service as Assistant Director of the Human Resource Department at Office of Auditor-General, Malaysia. He was responsible for managing succession planning aspects of professional government auditors for 13 years before being promoted to Principal Assistant Director in Tax Division at Ministry of Finance. His current responsibilities include reviewing tax exemption applications from promoted industries such as agricultural, timber, furniture, ethyl alcohol, petroleum and palm oil. He has also served as committee member in special committees with Royal Malaysian Customs Department, Malaysian Industrial Development Agency (MIDA), Ministry of Agriculture, Petroleum Industries Committee and Malaysia-Thailand Agency for Joint Agreement (MTAJA). He graduated with Honors from De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom in 1997 with a Bachelor Degree in Accounting & Finance, and is currently studying for his Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) at the University of Brunei Darussalam.

Spring 2017 Fellows

Mr. Dimang Chhann is a Masters of Public Administration student from the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Chhann joined the Ministry of Tourism for the Royal Government of Cambodia in 2007 and currently serves as Chief of Bureau. His duties include managing international relations, coordinating tourism projects and MOUs and organizing meetings and seminars. Previously, he was an English teacher and counselor with Mithsamlanh (Friends) Organization, an NGO based in Phnom Penh that provides services to and supports street children throughout Cambodia. He also volunteers with the Hun Many Voluntary Youth Doctors Association and Leadership Development Association. Chhann holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the Cambodian University for Specialties and a Masters of Business Administration from Norton University. He is hosted at the School of Social Welfare.

Mr. Shahrul Othman is an Administrative Officer Special Grade from the Government of Brunei. He has been with the government of Brunei since 2003 and worked in various Ministries and Departments, ranging from the Ministry of Industry of Primary Resources to the Department of Immigration and National Registration. Since 2014, his current placement is at the Public Service Department, Prime Minister’s Office. As an administrative officer at the Public Service Department, he is responsible for looking at policies with regards to improving the efficiency and deliverable of public services. Apart from that, he is responsible for the welfare and succession planning of senior government officers.  He received a Bachelor’s of Accounting and Business at University of North London, England.

Captain Zil Husam Abd Rahman was posted most recently as the Defence Attaché of Brunei Darussalam to the United States of America working at the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in Washington, DC. Previously, he was Fleet Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy in charge of all naval operation assets and over 1000 personnel which include the Fleet Headquarters, all ships, support squadrons, naval diving units and other operational elements. His 26 years of working experience as an officer in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) provides him with varied experience in commands and staffs appointments. Other than command experiences, he had held various staff appointments, including Military Assistant to the Deputy Minister & Special Project Officer to the Deputy Minister of Defence. He is a graduate of the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), Dartmouth, United Kingdom, and received specialization training as a Ship Navigation Officer Specialist; Landing Craft Qualifying Officer; Principal Warfare Officer; and Executive Development Program on Public Policy from Kings College of London. 

Ms. Maslina Said is working in the Local Business Development (LBD) Division under the Energy and Industry Department, Prime Minister’s Office, Brunei Darussalam since 2015. She is responsible for monitoring the progress of Non-Oil and Gas sectors through industry data monitoring and analysis. She is also responsible for formulating and developing new policies related to local business development, especially for Non-Oil and Gas sectors in line with Brunei Vision 2035 to diversify the economy by increasing GDP contribution from Non-Oil and Gas sectors. She served for more than 8 years in the Ministry of Tourism and Primary Resources, leading the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) International Affairs Unit. She has been actively involved in representing Brunei Darussalam in various SME related international meetings/programs under APEC, ASEM, ASEAN, and BIMP-EAGA. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business (Accounting) from Charles Darwin University, Australia.

Spring 2016 Fellows

Ms. Anastasia Kotylo is a Master of Public Policy and Management candidate (2016) at the Institute of Policy Studies at the University of Brunei Darussalam. Prior to joining the Institute of Policy Studies, she worked as a Marketing Analyst for UniMed and a substitute teacher of Philosophy and Ethics for the Faculty of Human Studies at the St. Petersburg State University of Technology and Design. She received her undergraduate degree in Philosophy from St. Petersburg State University, where she completed her thesis “The Mask as the Aesthetic Phenomenon” and continued her research as a postgraduate student in Philosophical Anthropology at St. Petersburg State University of Economics. Ms. Kotylo has written several publications, including The Mask, Actor and Spectator in Classic Ancient Tragedy, The Mask at Contemporary Theatre Pedagogics: a way to reveal artistic potential of an actor and The Mask at Visual Space and Practices of Actionism. SHe holds a high level achievement certificate in Cognitive and Cultural Studies from The New York - St. Petersburg Institute of Linguistics, Cognition and Culture (NYI). Currently, Ms. Kotylo is involved in a Master Scientific Research Project, devoted to environmental awareness and sustainable waste management system in Brunei. She also supports conservation projects and helps to raise charitable funds for indigenous peoples, who live in remote areas of Borneo.  
 

Mr. Asme Amit is a Master of Public Policy and Management student at the Institute of Policy Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. He has 7 years of government experience and serves as Administrative Officer for the Department of Economic Planning & Development at the Prime Minister's Office in Brunei. Mr. Amit oversees personnel and training activities and has experience in finance, procurment and asset managment. He is a Change Agent and Trainer for the Government Employee Managment System in the public service. In addition, he has served as a Research Officer at the Ministry of Defense and an Administrative Officer Trainee at the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance in Brunei. Mr. Amit holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and a minor in Business Information Systems from the Universiti Brunei Darrussalam. Currently, Mr. Amit is involved in a Master Scientific Research Project looking into education policies and socioeconomic development in Brunei Darussalam. 

Fall 2015 Fellows

Ms. Khin Nilar Soe earned a Bachelor Degree in International Relation from the University of Yangon in 1994. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998 and served  as an Head of Branch in East and South Asia Division, Political Department.  From 2002 to 2006, she was transferred to the Myanmar Embassy in Berlin, Germany as Second Secondary in charge of the Consular matters.  She then returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Head of Branch of the South East Asia Division, Political Department until 2009. Here she to strengthen bilateral relations.  Ms. Soe was then posted to the Myanmar Embassy in Cairo, Egypt from 2009 to 2011.  In Cairo, she served as First Secretary handling political matters.  Upon finishing her tenure in Cairo, she was transferred back to the headquarters as Assistant Director.  Since then, she has been serving in the European Division of the Political Department in the Ministry, and was promoted to Deputy Director.  Ms. Soe is currently studying for her Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) at the Universiti Brunei, Darussalam. 

Spring 2015 Fellows

Mr. Sinhow Chin is an inter-disciplinarian with experience as a corporate banker, a marketing analyst in IT business development and an advertising executive. At HSBC Brunei, he facilitated foreign direct investments by Global 500 companies and helped local companies expand their operations. With Brunei Accenture Group, he worked in the business development team marketing, tendering and winning large-scale public contracts.  Mr. Chin began his career with Saatchi & Saatchi Kuala Lumpur where he learned the importance of understanding human insight, harnessing ideas and being shameless enough to ask difficult questions. He is interested in the space where governments and businesses intersect, and in the socio-economic impacts of these interactions. Mr. Chin is currently working on his Master’s in Public Policy and Management at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam.  He enjoys backpacking in unfamiliar lands, running, trekking, diving and general life-hacking.
 

Ms. Evgenia Likhovtseva graduated from Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia and is currently a Master’s student at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Ms. Likhovtseva entered politics in 2011 as the youngest candidate in the Saint-Petersburg Parliamentary election. In 2012 she launched her own political discussion club modeled after a platform for dialogue between citizens and Russian politicians. In 2013, Ms. Likhovtseva became a political columnist for the famous Russian magazine “Expert.” Her interviews touched on sensitive social themes and current issues. Among her interlocutors were Robert Aumann, Nobel Prize winner for his game-theory analysis of conflict and cooperation and Andrew Kostin, President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank. Ms. Likhovtseva is interested in theories of modernity and studied Hanna Arendt, Michel Faucolt, Peter Wagner and Shmuel Eiseshtadt as an undergraduate. During her Master’s studies she has considered issues of Islamic governance in Malaysia and Brunei, which, she believes, is relevant to the analysis of modernity.
 

Mr. John Lim most recently served as Assistant Director with the Ministry of Law Headquarters in Singapore. There, he was involved in policy review and oversight of the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office. As Chairman of the Ministry’s Staff Welfare Committee he was instrumental in legislating and publicizing the amended Moneylenders Act in Singapore. He was also involved in the Ministry's organizational development, overseeing the documentation of work processes and ensuring that the Ministry was in accordance with the Singapore Quality Class, a certification of overall service standard. Mr. Lim also represented the Law Ministry in a cross-Ministry project reviewing the impact of social media on public officers. Prior to this, Mr. Lim served at the Legal Aid Bureau in Singapore.  He was largely responsible for managing the impact of the SARs pandemic in 2003 and the Avian Influenza in 2005.  He was awarded the Star Service Award in 2008.  Mr. Lim began his career in the Police Department as a junior government official and subsequently continued his education at the University of Wales, Swansea, pursuing a degree in Developments Studies. He later earned a graduate diploma in Human Resource Management and is now enrolled in a Master’s program in Public Policy and Management at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, which he hopes will broaden his understanding of policy formulation and delivery.
 

Ms. Siti Diana Othman serves as a Research Officer at the Directorate of Defense Policy, Ministry of Defense, Brunei Darussalam. In this position, Ms. Othman is exposed to various defense and security undertakings, which includes her participation in Joint Defense Working Groups meetings, ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meetings (ADMM) and the United Nations General Assembly (2012) as the First Committee representative. Ms. Othman's previous positions include her appointments as a Research Officer in the Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense in 2006 and as the Assistant Defense Attaché at the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in the Philippines in 2008. Ms. Othman graduated from Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom with BSc Econs in Economics, and is now pursuing her Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam.