KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has appointed Mohd Faiz Abdullah as the new chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) for a three-year term effective February 17.

The institute announced Mohd Faiz’s appointment along with a new board of directors.

"With Malaysia Madani as the guiding philosophy of nationhood, Malaysia is well poised to take on a larger role in the international arena and we’re here to advance that agenda and help realise our global aspirations,” the new ISIS chairman said in the statement.

"Further, the appointment of a high-powered board of directors reflects the government’s aim of ensuring that ISIS Malaysia remains a world-class institution.”

A lawyer by training, Mohd Faiz has extensive experience in public policy and research, including serving as a special adviser on international policy and affairs with Selangor government, and later as adviser in strategic and international relations in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

His portfolio included helming various public-listed companies and served as a senior research fellow and director at the Institute for Policy Studies from 1996 to 2008.

Mohd Faiz also co-founded the World Forum for Muslim Democrats with PM Anwar, dedicated to providing a platform for public intellectuals to discuss matters related to Islam, reform, democracy and governance.

Besides Mohd Faiz, the PM also appointed Secretary-General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zain, Secretary-General of Ministry of Finance Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican, Secretary-General of Ministry of Defence Datuk Seri Muez Abd Aziz, Mohamed Aslam Mohamed Haneef, Rozanah Ab Rahman, Naguib Mohd Nor, V. Raman Narayanan, and Tham Siew Yean to the institute’s board of directors.