Global Ambassadors

Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin

Global Ambassador

Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs; a Trustee of Yayasan Chow Kit, Yayasan Munarah, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and the Genovasi Foundation; an Independent Non-Executive Director of Allianz Malaysia Berhad and Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad; an advisor or patron to numerous educational and musical organisations; a committee member of several societies; a columnist in three newspapers and a Royal Fellow of the National University of Malaysia.

He was educated at the Kuala Lumpur Alice Smith School, Marlborough College and the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he obtained his MSc in Comparative Politics. He worked in the UK Houses of Parliament, the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, KRA Group and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy before permanently returning to Malaysia.

In 2006 he co-founded the Malaysia Think Tank which evolved into the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. Since 2008 he has maintained a newspaper column across five newspapers, currently #abidinideas in the Star, Sin Chew and Borneo Post. From these articles three books have been compiled, the latest being nominated for the Popular Readers’ Choice Awards. Tunku Zain also authored a coffee table book for the Installation of the Eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan and led a major project to revitalise the State Anthem.

An Eisenhower Fellow, he has been selected for various leadership programmes by the governments of Australia, France and the European Union and has received awards for integrity and impact among young leaders.

His public speaking engagements have included the inaugural lecture of the Speakers’ Lecture Series of the Malaysian Parliament, the inaugural lecture of the Constitutional law Lecture Series at the University of Malaya, the third Raja Aziz Addruse Memorial Lecture at the International Malaysia Law Conference, and the Cultural Diplomacy Lecture Series at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations.

A keen pianist, he has performed or recorded with the UiTM Chamber Choir, Tunku Kurshiah College Wind Orchestra, Choir of Gonville & Caius College Cambridge, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Mei Yi Foo, Bartosz Woroch and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, among others.

He enjoys tennis and squash, serving as President of the Negeri Sembilan Squash Association.