The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tan Sri Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria as the new Senior Policy Fellow in charge of ERIA's Policy Design Department.

Her work will link ERIA's research with the needs of policy-makers in the region, enabling them to make more informed governance decisions. Dr Rebecca has extensive knowledge of ERIA's work, having served on the Governing Board since 2015.

Dr Rebecca has had a very distinguished career with the Government of Malaysia spanning 30 years and serving in a range of important capacities. In July she retired as the Secretary General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry where she provided oversight for the formulation and implementation of Malaysia's international trade policies and positions. This involved Malaysia's participation in bilateral, regional (ASEAN, APEC, OIC) and multilateral fora (World Trade Organization), as well as bilateral and regional trade negotiations. On the regional front, she played a key role in ASEAN economic Integration and chaired the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting as well as the ASEAN High Level Task Force for Economic Integration.

She began her career in the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service in 1981 and served in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. In the course of her civil service career, she had a brief stint as the Chief Administration and Procurement Officer of the ASEAN Plant Quarantine and Training Centre and contributed to human capital development at the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN).

Dr Rebecca has also won distinguished academic awards including the Malcolm Knowles Award for the best PhD dissertation in 2000 in the field of Human Resource Development by the American Academy of Human Resource Development. She was also awarded a Professional Achievement Awards by the School of Education, University of Georgia (2013).

She serves on the Board of Trustees of MyKasih, an NGO that focuses on alleviating urban poverty and is a Council Member of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).