Jury Biodata
Below are the biodata of seven juries of Penang Bay International Ideas Competition, in no particular order.
YB. Jagdeep Singh Deo
State Executive Committee of Penang for Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government
Jagdeep Singh Deo is the eldest son of the late Karpal Singh, a renowned Malaysian lawyer and statesman in his own right. Having completed his primary education at the St. Xavier’s Institution in Penang, he later went on to read law in the United Kingdom. He then returned to Penang where he was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court in Malaya and practiced law at Karpal Singh & Co.
Driven to correct the injustices and social struggles prevailing at the time, he took in his father’s footsteps and joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in 1994. His journey as an elected representative of the people then began in 2008 where he was elected as Member of the State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) for Datok Keramat, Penang. In 2013, he was re-elected ADUN for Datok Keramat and appointed as Penang State Executive Councillor for Housing and Town & Country Planning.
In 2018, he was re-elected once more as ADUN for Datok Keramat with his largest majority yet and was re-appointed Penang State Executive Councillor for Housing and Town & Country Planning with an added responsibility of heading the Local Government portfolio in overseeing both Penang City Councils – Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang and Majlis Bandaraya Seberang Perai, which he continues to helm to date.
Dato’ Azhar Bin Haji Arshad
Penang Deputy State Secretary (Development)
He joined the Federal Public Service in January 1996 as an Assistant Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Department. He then served various posts at various ministries and agencies. He is now serving as the Deputy State Secretary (Development) at Penang State Secretariat Office since 15 November 2018. In his current position, he is assisting in the formulation, planning and monitoring of policies and procedures for the development of projects in Penang State while liaising with external partners and agencies, including private and voluntary sector organisations, foreign & local agencies and other local authorities.
Luis Monreal
General Manager, Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC)
Luis Monreal is the General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Geneva (Switzerland). He is a conservation specialist, art historian and archeologist. He has held positions in many institutions. He has been the Curator Barcelona Museums (1965-1974) and Secretary General of the International Council of Museums ICOM (1974–1985).
He was Director of the Getty Conservation Institute (Los Angeles, 1985–1990) and Director General, ‘La Caixa’ Foundation (Barcelona, 1990–2001). He was also a member of various archeological missions in Nubia, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on art and archeology. He is a board member of the Gala-Salvador Dalì Foundation (Spain), a member of the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts (Barcelona, Spain), Commadeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and Gran Cruz de Isabel la Católica (Spain).
Eduardo Moreno
Head Knowledge and Innovation, UN-Habitat
Eduardo Moreno is Head of Knowledge and Innovation at UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and Director Interim for Mexico and Cuba country office. Prior, he was the Chief of the Global Urban Observatory from (2002-2008) and Senior Technical Adviser in the Bureau of Africa and the Arab States, UN-Habitat (1999-2002). He has over 35 years of academic and professional experience in housing and urban development policies, policy evaluation, institutional analysis, global monitoring, and equity and urban poverty issues.
His qualifications include a Ph.D. in urban geography and a master’s degree in urban sociology from the University of Paris III-Sorbonne. UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries to promote transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance and collaborative action. UN-Habitat’s new strategic plan 2020-2023 adopts a more strategic and integrated approach to solving the challenges and opportunities of twenty-first century cities and other human settlements. Our mission embodies the four main roles of the organization, which can be summarized as: think, do, share and partner. UN-Habitat works with partners to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. UN-Habitat promotes urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities, reducing inequality, discrimination and poverty.
Tpr. Ihsan Zainal Mokhtar
President, Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP)
TPr. Ihsan is a fellow member of Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) and a council member of MIP since 1994 with current position as President. He is also a registered Town Planner with the Board of Town Planners Malaysia.
The Malaysian Institute of Planners chartered object is “ to promote the science and art of Town Planning for the benefit of the public…” It does this primarily by ensuring the existence of a body of professional planners with the appropriate knowledge, training and skills to promote the advancement of town planning in Malaysia since 1972. The Malaysian Institute of Planners is a professional institute that is a membership-registered organization. Most of its members are fully qualified professional town planners, working as planning officers with various federal, state and local authorities, as town planning consultants, lecturers in universities or as planners for developers and various organisations with significant land banks. MIP has since its inception champion and lead progress and change in planning practice, address issues of importance to the planning profession and the public interest and deliver relevant and contemporary benefits and services to its members.
Wadzi Katsidzira
Global Development Incubator (GDI)
At GDI, Wadzi works on multi stakeholder initiatives in financing and system change in sectors including infrastructure, SME development, modern slavery and education. She currently manages the day to day design and implementation of the Cities Investment Advisory Platform. Prior to GDI, she was a Vice President at Greenoaks, a private equity fund investing in Asian and African insurers. She was previously a credit-officer within Australia’s largest commercial bank, and an analyst at the Western Australian Treasury. Here, she worked on both infrastructure and services Public-Private-Partnerships across all stages including project identification, pricing and structuring. She holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Sanda Lenzholzer
International Landscape Architect
Sanda Lenzholzer is a Full Professor and Chair Holder in Landscape Architecture at Wageningen University and acts as Principal Investigator at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS). After completing master degrees in landscape architecture and in urban design she worked in design practice for several years. Since 2004 she has been tenured at Wageningen University. She furthered theoretical concepts on the relationship between research and design. She has a thematic focus on climate-related urban and landscape design. Through her publications (e.g. ‘Weather in the city’) and research projects (e.g. Climate Proof Cities, Realcool, Soloclim) she contributes to the knowledge base of climate-responsive urban and landscape design.