Our People

Directors of Pusat KOMAS

Jerald Joseph

Jerald Joseph

For the last 30 years, Mr Jerald Joseph has been a human rights defender and trainer consultant at local and international levels on human rights issues concerning the rights of Indigenous Peoples, elimination of racial discrimination, and economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). In Malaysia, he has served as a Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) for the terms 2016-2019 / 2019-2022. He has developed advocacy and education tools on combating racial discrimination, such as pioneering the Non-Discrimination programme since 2006.

In the regional and international levels of civil society work, he has served as a member of various human rights civil society organisations (CSOs) including:

  • Commonwealth Foundation Advisory Body
  • Asian South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education (ASPBAE)
  • International Steering Committee (ISC) Asia-Pacific NGO Steering Committee of World Conference against Racism (WCAR)

He has been a Consultant Trainer for many NGOs including:

  • Forum Asia, Bangkok
  • South East Asian Popular Communication Programme, Jakarta (SEAPCP)
  • Commonwealth Foundation, UK
  • Al-Aman Iraq
  • Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), India
  • Eastern & Southern Africa Farmers' Forum (ESSAF), Ghana and NPSN and Hakijami, Kenya.

Notably, he had led the Malaysian NGOs’ reporting to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group in Geneva (2013) and was also the Chairman of the ACSC/ASEAN People’s Forum (APF) process in 2006/2007.

Presently, he is a Board Member of Pusat KOMAS and Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and Chairperson for FORUM-ASIA for the term 2022-2025.

Tan Jo Hann

Tan Jo Hann

Tan Jo Hann has over four decades of experiences in community organising and grassroots advocacy since 1980's till 2023. His expertise include strategic planning, popular communications, developing and organising human rights and political campaigns. He has trained and mentored thousands of community organiser-facilitators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Japan, and the Philippines.

He founded the Southeast Asia Popular Communications Programme (SEAPCP) in 1991, and established Malaysian Human rights NGO Pusat Komas in 1993. He was the President of PERMAS (Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan), a network of urban poor squatter and slum communities (2000-2015) , and served as a Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) local councilor (Ahli Majlis) in Selangor State (2008-2012).

Jo Hann obtained a BA in Journalism and Political Science from the University of the Philippines and was an active freelance photojournalist from 1986 until 2000. His writings on community organising include 'Get Organised' (translated to Indonesian, Japanese, Khmer, Vietnamese and Burmese languages), 'Walking on Water', 'Art of C.O.' and 'Popular Communications Facilitation'.

Staff Members of Pusat KOMAS

Dr. Ryan Yumin Chua

Programme Director

Dr. Ryan Yumin Chua

Ryan is the Programme Director of the non-discrimination programme in Pusat KOMAS. He joined Pusat KOMAS in July 2015. He was previously responsible for the research, monitoring and reporting of the issues of racial discrimination in Malaysia. He also organised, supported and participated in several ASEAN civil society programmes and project managed several non-discrimination projects in Pusat KOMAS. Ryan was also responsible for the development of the “Code of Conduct for the Promotion of Equal Opportunities through the Elimination of Racial Discrimination” and the “Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Monitoring Framework” which was adopted by the Penang state government and the Malaysian government respectively. He was also actively involved in providing non-discrimination (anti-racism) and human rights education to marginalised communities (Orang Asli), university students and governmental agencies.

Ryan is also an adjunct lecturer in Monash University Malaysia. He completed his PhD in Psychology at the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, examining the psychological resilience mechanisms and processes of the Semai indigenous communities in Peninsular Malaysia. His research interests include areas related to cross-cultural psychology, indigenous psychology, resilience and indigenous communities and racism and discrimination.

Faribel Maglin Fernandez

Management Coordinator

Faribel Maglin Fernandez

Faribel holds the position of Management Coordinator of Pusat KOMAS. She completed three years of training in the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA) and has worked in several corporate sectors for seven years before joining Pusat KOMAS. She oversees the office operations and manages the financial operations of the organisation. Her 18 years of commitment and contribution to Pusat KOMAS programmes and supporting the team in various strides of Pusat KOMAS over the years have contributed to the organisation’s mission and vision.

She was also the country representative of the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum for the past 3 years (2019 – 2021) and currently oversees and coordinates the CSO Platform for Reform.

Umi Maisarah binti Kamis

Programme Coordinator

Umi Maisarah binti Kamis

Umi recently received a Bachelor of International Relations (Hons) and is currently the Programme Coordinator at Pusat KOMAS. Inspired by the book “First They Killed My Father” by Loung Ung when she was 17, she pursued more opportunities and acquired invaluable on-the-ground knowledge in the field of human rights and social justice through her internships in a few organizations.

When she joined the Malaysian Relief Agency, she actively participated in various programmes involving the communities, especially in giving aid such as food packs to over 1000 families in Pulau Pinang during the pandemic. She also directed Program Sumbangan Buku by giving free books to 250 university students in Penang in collaboration with Bookxcess.

She then joined the All Women's Action Society (AWAM), exploring women's issues while advocating for changes in Malaysian policies in the women's sphere. She was the anchor during AWAM's Merdeka Campaign in 2022 through social media posts.

Loving the idea of public policy making, she subsequently joined Khazanah Research Institute where she assisted the Employability Team in developing a Graduate Career Tracking Survey for analysis of 50,000 Malaysian graduates over the past decade in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education. She also co-authored the viewpoint piece "Mengatasi Salah Tanggap dan Memahami Peluang Pekerjaan Graduan Ph.D.".

Becoming a member of Pusat KOMAS was one of the steps she took to pursue her desired career in the humanitarian rights industry further, particularly in public policy-making. One can always find Umi reading on the train to work or laughing with her friends at popular spots around KL.

Yogavelan Balamurli

Project Management Coordinator

Yogavelan Balamurli

Meet Yoga, our Project Management Coordinator at Pusat Komas. Holding a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Architecture from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Yoga's role involves overseeing documentation and submissions for selected programs organized by Pusat Komas and its affiliates. Before joining our team, Yoga dedicated eight years as an enthusiastic volunteer for LYNK, the youth organization under La Salle Centre Ipoh. In this capacity, Yoga actively participated in organizing and partaking in programs focused on character building and development for young people of various ages. Yoga's academic background and extensive volunteer experience have equipped him with a profound understanding of the importance of communication and organizational skills in community and societal work, particularly in the realm of human rights.

Sharmila Vani

Communications Coordinator

Sharmila Vani

Sharmila is the Communications Coordinator for Pusat Komas. She has read law previously and is currently doing her Masters in Criminal Justice at University Malaya. She also did her BPTC in the UK and volunteered by attending hearings at court while she was there. Joining us in 2023, she is responsible for Pusat Komas’ social media platforms, develops communication strategies to educate fellow Malaysians on discrimination, racism and other related issues. From being an online social justice warrior, she believes it’s better and important to be on the ground doing meaningful work to make Malaysia a better place for all races.

Associates of Pusat KOMAS

Associates are individuals who continue to be committed to the goals and mission of Pusat KOMAS. These individuals have been providing support and assistance to Pusat KOMAS over the past two years to advocate and champion equality and non-discrimination in Malaysia.

Adli Zakuan Zairakithnaini

Adli Zakuan Zairakithnaini

Adli Zakuan Zairakithnaini is a law graduate from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He is an EXCO member of Muslims Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) that is in-charge of its International Affairs and coordinator for Human Rights and Counter Violent Extremism Task Force. Besides ABIM, he is also the High Council Member of the Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) and an EXCO member of Global Peace Mission Malaysia (GPM), a humanitarian agency, where he had the chance to coordinate several successful humanitarian missions to Arakan, Myanmar since 2012. Prior to joining Pusat KOMAS, Adli was the Director of Operation and Research Manager at Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF). He also had the experience to serve refugees in Malaysia as a Caseworker at International Rescue Committee and as Legal Aid Counsel at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during his pupilage at Sreenevasan & Co under the guidance of Janini Rajeswaran and Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Barathi Selvam

Barathi Selvam

Ilaiya Barathi Panneerselvam is an academic in the field of Communication and a Gunners for life. Fondly known as Barathi, he is a journalism graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia and completed his Master of Communication in Screen Studies at the same university. The pain of embarking a research journey appears to be pleasurable as he is keen to advance his PhD in exploring the realm of national identity, representation and identity construction of marginalised communities in Malaysian Cinema with the hope of contesting or negotiating the notion of “national cinema” at his forever alma mater. Barathi is passionate about class inequality and discrimination in films and society which motivates him to involve in the issues close to his heart, especially on injustices unleashed against the poor, powerless and working class. He is an occasional writer who has numerous articles published in Aliran Online, Malay Mail Online and Free Malaysia Today. In his free time, Barathi finds solace in the music of A.R Rahman or immerses himself in the world of Harry Potter.

Arul Prakkash

Arul Prakkash

Prakkash is a human rights activist, community organizer and media specialist leading WITNESS’ programmatic work in Asia and the Pacific. He works to strengthen the use of video to expose human rights violations in critical response situations in the region, such as war crimes, ethnic cleansing, forced evictions, elections-related violence, police abuse, and others.

He trains and supports frontline activist networks, grassroots movements, social network influencers, journalists, independent media, citizens, and NGOs in the use of video and technology for human rights, and especially their evidentiary uses. This includes video archiving and region-wide advocacy, as well as issues of digital security and physical safety.

Prakkash’s expertise includes the use of internet and social media technology for human rights education and advocacy in southeast Asia. Prakkash has been immersed in grassroots multimedia communications for more than 20 years in Malaysia, especially with civil society organizations, independent media, and activists. He also has extensive experience in using popular communications in empowering and advocating for human rights, and community organizing with urban poor youth, indigenous peoples’ communities and plantation workers.

Before joining WITNESS in 2014, Prakkash had for 10 years served as the executive director and senior programme staff member at Pusat KOMAS. He was also a steering committee member of BERSIH 2.0, a civil society movement advocating for free and fair elections in Malaysia. He later helped set up and co-coordinate a nationwide web-based election observation body, and trained hundreds of independent observers during the 2013 Malaysian general elections.

Prakkash recently directed the documentary film Melawan Arus (‘Against the Tide’), which traces the growing critical mass movement that toppled the 61-year Barisan Nasional government in Malaysia.