Assistant Professor Dr Dian Shah has been appointed as a member of the Malaysia Consultative Council on Foreign Policy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

NUS Law congratulates Assistant Professor Dr Dian Shah on her recent appointment as a member of the Malaysia Consultative Council on Foreign Policy (CCFP), under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In line with the Prime Minister of Malaysia’s call for tangible deliverables from Cabinet Ministers within the first 100 days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) formed and hosted its first official meeting of the CCFP on Friday 3, September 2021.

Led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah, the CCFP comprises 15 members, including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva.

The CCFP members represent various backgrounds including academia, civil society organisations, independent commissions, and the corporate sector. Appointed based on their vast knowledge and experience in their respective fields, they have been tasked to provide considered views and expert recommendations to the Ministry on a range of policy issues of national, regional, and international importance. The creation of the CCFP follows an open and consultative (Syura) approach in the process of implementing the country’s foreign policy.

As a member of the council, Dian will primarily contribute on issues relating to violent extremism, peaceful coexistence, and human rights, including Malaysia’s treaty obligations.

“I am extremely honoured to be appointed to the Consultative Council for Foreign Affairs and excited at the opportunity to influence and contribute to policy-making at national and international levels. In line with my research profile and expertise, I hope to pay special attention to issues relating to violent extremism, peaceful coexistence, and human rights. Malaysia has presented its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, so I also look forward to working constructively with the Ministry and the CCFP on its pledges.” Dian said.

About Dian Shah

Assistant Professor Dr Dian Shah completed her Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degrees at Duke University, where she led the SJD Students Association. Her research interests span the fields of comparative constitutional studies, law and religion, and human rights. She maintains a particular interest in studying the interaction between law, politics, and society in plural and divided societies, as well as the process and outcomes of democratisation and constitutional change in Asia.

She authored Constitutions, Religion and Politics in Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka (Cambridge University Press 2017) and is the co-editor of a volume on Law and Society in Malaysia: Pluralism, Religion and Ethnicity (Routledge 2018). She has published in leading journals in the field, including the International Journal of Constitutional Law, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, and the Asian Journal of Comparative Law. She is currently working on her second monograph examining the dynamics between constitutional integrity and political change in several Asian jurisdictions. Dian is also a Co-Principal Investigator for a research project on “Judging and Social Cohesion in Asia”.

At NUS Law, she serves as a member of the CALS Exco, where she co-chairs the Law and Religion Cluster with Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, Arif Jamal, and as Subject Editor for the Asian Journal of Comparative Law.