DR DIANA CHEONG (Chief Researcher)
Dr Diana Cheong is the Chief Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and heads research and other core activities at CSPS. She specialises in Sociology, Public Policy and Economic Development. Her experience in the policy analysis field spans more than 18 years and she is a leading Policy Researcher and Consultant in Brunei.
She has conducted pioneering research work in Brunei in the areas of poverty, unemployment, youth development, work and productivity issues.
She successfully led several research projects on Brunei including a number of studies on Brunei Futures and Strategic Foresight, Youth and Drug Abuse, Poverty Studies, Unemployment Studies, Feasibility Study on Alternative Energy Sources, Social Problems Among Young People , Blueprint For Vision 2035 Sustainable And Inclusive Land Transportation System , White Paper on Making Brunei Darussalam the Preferred Holiday Destination, Land Optimisation National Strategy for Industrial and Commercial Growth, Financial Literacy Survey and National Strategy and the Formulation of Brunei National Youth Policy and Strategy 2020-35. She leads in designing and facilitating Executive Development Programmes particularly within the field of Public Policy Analysis, Survey Research Methods, Strategic Planning and Strategic Foresight.
Prior to joining CSPS, she was a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy for Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and held a number of principal administrative posts at UBD such as Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Director of International Office and Director of the Institute of Leadership, Innovation and Advancement. She has also worked for the Brunei Narcotics Control Bureau (Intelligence Unit). She is a qualified Advocate & Solicitor (Lincolns Inn, Supreme Court of Brunei), Harvard trained in Negotiations and Competitive Decision Making, Strategic Planning (Haines Gold Mastery), Change Management (Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australia and Strategic Foresight & Horizon Scanning (Action Foresight Australia).
Scenario Development for Job Futures in Brunei Darussalam 2040, (CSPS Strategy Policy Journal Volume 8).
Cheong, D. (2000) “Administrative Accountability and the Law in Brunei Darussalam”, (2000/2001) Tinjauan IV.
DR GIUSEPPE RIZZO (Senior Researcher)
Dr Giuseppe Rizzo is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and heads the Economics & Finance Unit. He has more than 10 years of research and public policy experience. His current research focuses on development economics, labour markets, and industrial trends.
During his eight years at CSPS, Dr Giuseppe led or co-led several research projects related to socio-economic development, including the two National Studies on Financial Literacy, the Economic Cluster Development Study, the Youth Unemployment Study, and the compilation of the Brunei Tourism Satellite Account. He has also conducted research about long-term labour market projections, land transport, urban and regional planning, aviation industry, tourism development, productivity, and social problems. His technical expertise is in quantitative research methods applied to microeconomic and social policy issues.
Before joining CSPS, Dr Giuseppe was a Research Fellow at the University of Catania (Italy), conducting research in the fields of public choice and tourism economics. He holds a PhD in Public Economics from the University of Catania (Italy), a MSc in Economics from the University of Southampton (UK), and an MA in Business and Economics from the University of Catania (Italy).
DR KOH WEE CHIAN (Researcher)
Dr Koh Wee Chian is a Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) School of Business and Economics. His research interests are in international and development economics, focusing on resource-rich economies. He has worked on a broad range of policy areas including fiscal policy, economic diversification, productivity, unemployment, energy, transport, trade facilitation, and SME development.
Dr Koh is the lead author of the Brunei Economic Outlook and the Brunei Economic Update. He has led several national consultancy projects such as the ASEAN SME Policy Index 2018, ASEAN Seamless Trade Facilitation Indicators, and the Mid-Term Review of the Implementation of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint 2025.
Previously, he was an Economist at the World Bank in Washington, DC, where his research work covered commodity markets, global recessions, debt crises, and informality in emerging markets and developing economies. His recent research focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic by taking an interdisciplinary approach, encompassing socioeconomic, epidemiological, and public health perspectives. He has published more than 60 journal articles, book chapters, development blogs, and policy papers.
Dr Koh holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University, a MSc in Finance and Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a MSocSci in Applied Economics from the National University of Singapore. He also holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation awarded by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).
DR AZRINAH RAHMAN (Researcher)
Dr Azrinah is a Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and heads the Public and Social Policy Unit. She is also the Co-Vice Head of Brunei Futures Initiative (BFI). Her current research interest includes those on future skills and education, family and work-balance policies, intergenerational solidarity, gender disparity and women’s status in society, and early childhood development.
Her main focus and expertise are on qualitative research to include substantial literature reviews, data collection and analysis as well as in conducting focus groups, in-depth interviews and surveys. She had been trained in the Masterclass for Systems Thinking Approach to Strategic Planning (Haines, Singapore), Futures Thinking and Scenario Planning (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy) and Research Methodology (Universiti Tun Abdul Razak). Recent projects she was involved in includes National Mid-term Review of the ASEAN ASCC Blueprint, Youth Unemployment in Brunei Darussalam: Towards a Sustainable Job Future, and National Youth Policy and Strategy for Brunei Darussalam. Prior to joining CSPS, Dr Azrinah was a Research Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, undertaking research on political, economic and bilateral issues between Brunei and countries in the Asia Pacific region.
She obtained her doctorate degree from the School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Australia.
YUZILAWATI ABDULLAH (Associate Researcher)
Yuzilawati Abdullah is an Associate Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS). With a background in Energy Economics and Islamic Banking & Finance, Yuzilawati began her career in the petroleum industry where she gained extensive experience having held various roles in research and analyses of upstream and downstream projects.
She later joined the financial services sector as a Finance Manager in a leading Islamic Financial Institution, where she led the execution of Shariah compliant investment instruments. Yuzi has been involved in numerous projects at CSPS, and facilitates workshops for CSPS and government stakeholders. She has also provided training at the Civil Service Institute, in Strategic Foresight to senior government officers, as well as participants of the Youth Executive Programme. She is trained in Strategic Planning (Haines Master Class and Gold Mastery Certification), Strategic Implementation (Haines), Foresight (School of International Futures, London) and Strategic Foresight and Horizon Scanning (Action Foresight, Australia). She is a member of the ASEAN Foresight Alliance and Co-Vice Head of Brunei Futures Initiative (BFI).
DR KARTINI RAHMAN (Associate Researcher)
Dr Kartini Rahman is an Associate Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) since 2013. Kartini has a PhD in Gerontology from University of Southampton, UK. She has a Masters of Science (MSc) in Social Research from London Metropolitan University, UK, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sociology and Politics from the University of Kent, UK.
As an associate researcher, Kartini has expertise in qualitative research, with an emphasis on in-depth interviewing, participant observation, thematic and case study analysis. She has over 10 years of practice and training in qualitative data analysis with the software Nvivo. She has considerable experience facilitating workshops, report writing, data collection and supervising fieldworkers in several research projects such as ‘National Health Survey System’, ‘Cross-Border Expenditure of Bruneians in Miri, Sarawak’, ‘Brunei Darussalam Mid-Term Review of the ASEAN Socio Cultural Blueprint (ASCC)’ and 'White Paper on Making Brunei Darussalam the Preferred Holiday Destination for All by 2025'.
Her main research interests are population ageing, intergenerational support flows, with a focus on the contributions and unmet needs of older adults in Brunei. Questions considered in her research focus are for example: How do family systems in Brunei adapt to economic and socio-demographic changes? How are intergenerational support arrangements negotiated? What is the extent and nature of intergenerational support flows within family networks?
PG REDHUAN PG RAJAK (Associate Researcher)
Redhuan Rajak is an Associate Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS). His main responsibility is to manage and carry out research in the fields of economics and social policy. Redhuan has been involved in numerous research projects using strategic foresight and and strategic management techniques.
Prior to working at the CSPS, Redhuan worked in the financial sector with the Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam as an Economist. He has experience in using foresight techniques in carrying out strategic planning. Redhuan obtained a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Warwick with a research dissertation on Bruneian perceptions of the local labour market with the main motivation being a possible future brain drain issue for Brunei Darussalam.
NUR EZZATI MAEIDIN (Associate Researcher)
Nur Ezzati is an Associate Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS). She has obtained her Master of Science in International Public Policy from University College London, UK and her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and Social Policy from University of Sheffield, UK.
Prior to joining CSPS, she was a personal assistant to a Legislative Council Member of Brunei and has provided support to preliminary and postliminary work for the 2020 and 2021 Legislative Council Meetings, such as arranging outreach sessions between legislative council members and the public, and conducting general research on policy-related issues.
Nur Ezzati is also a 2020/2021 member of the DBNS Youth Advisory Group, and has been working alongside the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports in socializing, monitoring and evaluating the progress of the National Youth Policy and Strategy (DBNS) 2020-2035.