Speaker details

Biography

Maha Balakrishnan is a Consultant for the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Malaysia and a Research Fellow at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Asia Headquarters in Sunway University, Malaysia. Maha is an analyst, writer, trainer and advisor on governance, democratic development, rights-based policy making and strategic policy advocacy. She read law at the University of Bristol, U.K. and obtained a Masters in Democracy and Comparative Politics from University College London, U.K. In her 12-year career as a lawyer, Maha practised civil, commercial and public administrative law in Malaysia. She contributed to the Malaysian Bar’s public advocacy work, and co-produced policy papers on legal and institutional reform for the Bar’s consultations with government. Upon shifting her focus to governance and public policy, Maha combines the disciplines of law and political science to provide advisory and consultancy services to international organisations, foreign missions, NGOs and think tanks. She is the principal facilitator for NDI Malaysia’s Akademi Parlimen, a first-of-its-kind capacity-building programme for parliamentarians and non-government stakeholders. She advises Members of Parliament, and consults for UNICEF Malaysia and civil society organisations on advocacy strategies for child rights, gender rights, fundamental liberties and institutional reform. Maha co-drafted the Malaysian Parliament’s parliamentary practice manual for MPs, and is the lead drafter of the parliament’s guidelines for witnesses testifying before parliamentary committees. Maha is also a member of the Malaysian Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Political Financing, and the APPG on Institutional Governance & Anti-Corruption. APPGs are formal forums for parliamentarians and non-government stakeholders to collaboratively develop policy ideas and solutions. Maha has published numerous papers on parliamentary democracy, political participation and institutional design in Malaysia, and on child rights, freedom of expression, secrecy laws and censorship laws.