Tun Abdullah Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as the country’s prime minister from 2003 and 2009. During his tenure as prime minister, Badawi oversaw Malaysia’s response to the devastating 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and introduced a number of wide-ranging and progressive economic plans that were aimed to help promote Malaysia’s cause and lift the economic standing of South East Asia as a whole. These plans included the National Integrity Plan, a blueprint designed to bring Malaysians together as a united society, and the Economic Corridor Development plan, which attracted the equivalent of approximately $70b of investments to the areas of development identified in the plan.

Badawi, who is affectionately known as Pak Lah, is an expert in the field of Islamic Studies and has dedicated his life to promoting and supporting religious study in Malaysia and across the world, while also working to enhance the levels of understanding that exist between the Muslim and Western worlds. He is currently working in a variety of governmental and business advisory roles, taking inspiration and ideas from his career as an elected politician that began almost 30 years ago.