Johor deputy state secretary appointed as new Irda CEO

JOHOR BARU: Johor government deputy State Secretary (development) Datuk Dr Badrul Hisham Kassim has been appointed as the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) new chief executive officer (CEO) effective on Jan 1, 2022.

In a statement on Monday (Dec 27), Irda said Badrul Hisham's appointment was agreed during a recent meeting of its members of authority meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad.

Irda said that the 54-year-old Badrul Hisham replaces Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, whose term has ended after 12 years of service leading the agency.

It added that Badrul Hisham has been a Johor state administrative officer since 1992 where his involvement in Iskandar Malaysia began before the establishment of Irda.

Irda added that Badrul Hisham was seconded from the Johor Economic Planning Unit (Upen) to Khazanah Nasional Berhad in 2006 for planning purposes for the establishment of Iskandar Malaysia.

From there, he had been directly involved in disclosing the Irda comprehensive development plan (CDP) 2006-2025 and the draft of the Irda Bill.

It added that after returning to Upen, he was appointed as the first Irda state commissioner to carry out the task of coordinating matters with Johor government departments and agencies, including the approvals required at the state level.

Irda then said that Badrul Hisham held the position from 2007 to 2014 and during that period, he was involved in the joint ministerial committee (JMC) between Malaysia and Singapore on Iskandar Malaysia.

It added that he was also the previous Johor Baru Central Municipal Council (now known as Iskandar Puteri City Council) president, which was one of the local authorities in Iskandar Malaysia.

Badrul Hisham holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Staffordshire Polytechnic, England, Master of Business Management (MBA) from the University of Leicester in England and Ph.D. from the University of Glamorgan in Wales in the field of water management and privatization.

He once attended an executive course at Harvard Kennedy School in the United States of America and was appointed adjunct professor by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in 2016.

Irda then said that Badrul Hisham's experience in state administration, land administration and local authorities as well as involvement with Federal departments such as the Prime Minister’s Department’s Economic Planning Unit and Finance Ministry as well as knowledge related to Irda and Iskandar Malaysia since its establishment makes him the most suitable candidate to lead the agency.