Matriculation year: 2018
Degree subject: Master of Laws (LLM)
Background
"I was elated to receive the Tunku scholarship in 2018 for my LLM studies. I come from a modest background and did not think myself as significantly extraordinary from the other applicants. But I loved Malaysia very much, participated since my teenage years in protests against draconian laws (naturally, as my father was a human rights activist), felt first-hand police brutality and acutely understood the importance of human rights protection, public participation in democratic spaces and the necessity to exercise my voice. I was loyal to the cause of dismantling domestic institutions and extractive policies which were destroying Malaysia through corruption, abuse of power and discrimination.
"The scholarship – in Tunku’s stead – meant more than money to me. In a way, I was bonded to Tunku’s loyalty to liberation from oppressive regimes, pragmatism towards equality, and above all, wanted to be of service to my country. At Cambridge, my research was on Affirmative Action for Majority Groups: A Focus on Malaysia for the International Human Rights Law module. At that point in Malaysia in 2018, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad had just retracted his pledge for Malaysia to sign and ratify the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Thus my thesis aimed to highlight how Malaysia’s affirmative action – which is controlled by and caters to the dominant political and numerical majority group – violates fundamental tenets of International Human Rights Law, particularly the jus cogens norm of the prohibition of racial discrimination. It was a project close to my heart because it dealt with the Malaysian Federal Constitution- one which Tunku co-drafted and argued for the time-limit clause for affirmative action policies but finally was not included in the Constitution – and this was the starting point of my thesis."
Life at Catz
"Getting the Tunku scholarship was wonderful news, but only much later I realised the greater blessing was being accepted into Catz. My greatest friends and precious companions were the diverse international community, kind caterers in the Catz dining hall, the bedders/housekeepers (one of whom made me soup when I was sick), the librarians, the welfare officers, the postgraduate tutors, the MCR and the lovely porters. The Catz community as a whole symbiotically thrive and in doing so, provide the most efficient and ideal environment for me to excel."
Life since Catz
"Upon the completion of my LLM in 2019, I returned to Malaysia and pursued empirical and academic studies on the right to equality in Malaysia from a Hohfeldian perspective. Thereafter I interned with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Myanmar Team and worked with Burmese groups fighting the Feb 2021 Tatmadaw’s coup. Currently I am back at Cambridge University pursuing an MPhil in Politics and International Studies- my goal being to learn how to ask more incisive questions about political phenomena beyond their legal boundaries. I also work as a consultant for the National Democratic Institute where I coordinate a group of 14 NGOs in Malaysia advocating for Rule of Law and constitutional reforms, access to justice and protection for human rights defenders."
Advice for potential applicants
"Finding your purpose is important. To understand that the individual is meant for greater causes; and to realise that these opportunities are never really about the individual per se, but the responsibility the individual owes to greater society, is key. #sayaanakMalaysia"
