KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 22): The founding chief executive officer (CEO) of the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Wan Saiful Wan Jan, will be leaving the think tank at the end of this month.

IDEAS, which announced this in a statement today, did not say where Wan Saiful is headed to, but Malaysiakini reported speculation is rife that he might be contesting in the coming general election.

Citing Pakatan Harapan sources, the news portal said Wan Saiful would join Parti Pribimi Bersatu Malaysia, which is helmed by former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and ex-deputy premier Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

IDEAS said Ali Salman, who is currently the organisation’s director of research, has been appointed as its acting CEO.

Wan Saifu, the founding CEO of IDEAS, assumed the role from 2009 and led the process to launch the think tank on Feb 8, 2010.

“Guided by the vision to inject Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj’s values into Malaysia’s public policy debates, Wan Saiful developed IDEAS from a start-up organisation into a think tank, known for its commitment to clear principles and its ability to conduct robust policy studies,” IDEAS said.

Commenting on his departure in the statement, Wan Saiful said: “I am privileged to have had the chance to work with such a talented team at IDEAS and I am grateful to all the donors, partners and friends who invested in us and supported us.”  

"I see my next move as a step that I must take now or I will regret it forever. When I left a relatively comfortable life in the United Kingdom in 2009 to come back and set up IDEAS, I had not much more than just a passion to make a difference. Now is the time to take the same risk again, to bring that same passion to a wider audience," Wan Saiful added.

Under Wan Saiful's leadership, IDEAS grew from just two people with a seed funding of RM500,000, into a team of 24 staff on its payroll today, with an annual income of over RM3 million, IDEAS' statement noted.

IDEAS chairman Tan Sri Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria said: “I am saddened by this decision. Wan Saiful’s passion and dedication helped build this organisation. I respect his decision and wish him well. IDEAS will build on what Wan Saiful has started, and we will continue to be an independent and cross-partisan think tank that we have always been.”

IDEAS also currently runs two charity projects: the IDEAS Autism Centre that caters to urban poor families in Selangor, and IDEAS Academy which is a secondary level refugee school in Kuala Lumpur.