Railway 200 Malaysia: inspiring the future of rail in Malaysia

YBhg. Dato' Seri Azman Bin Ibrahim

YBhg. Dato’ Seri Azman bin Ibrahim currently serves as the Secretary General of the Ministry of Works (KKR), Malaysia — the highest administrative position within the ministry. In this capacity, he oversees national infrastructure development, policy implementation, and inter-agency coordination across Malaysia’s road, bridge, and public works sectors.

As the ministry’s top civil servant, Dato’ Seri Azman plays a pivotal role in shaping Malaysia’s infrastructure agenda, ensuring project delivery efficiency, sustainability, and alignment with the nation’s long-term development goals. His leadership extends to oversight of the Public Works Department (JKR), the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), and the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), among others.

Ir. Ahmad Nizam Mohamed Amin

Ir Ahmad Nizam Mohamed Amin is a seasoned engineer and executive in Malaysia’s rail industry, currently appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of KTMB, Malaysia’s primary rail operator.

He holds professional registration as a Chartered Engineer (Ir) and Professional Engineer (P.Eng).   
Ahmad Nizam began his career as a site engineer (notably working on the foundations of the Petronas Twin Towers), progressed through senior operational and engineering roles including Chief Operating Officer of the Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd, Chief Infra Services Officer at Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, and then joined KTMB in June 2020 as Chief Technical Officer, responsible for fleet, track, electrification, signalling systems and modernisation of the rail network.

Ir. Gandhi Suppiah

S. Gandhi Suppiah CEng FICE is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 25 years of international experience delivering complex infrastructure projects across the UK, Australia, and Southeast Asia, with a portfolio exceeding USD $10 billion. He has led major developments across the full project lifecycle in highways, urban transport, aviation, and sustainable cities.

As Managing Director and Regional Director for Southeast Asia, Gandhi brings a strategic and pragmatic leadership approach, underpinned by technical depth and a commitment to sustainable development. He currently serves as one of the lead advisor on Davao Public Transport Modernisation Project (DPTMP) in the Philippines, one of Southeast Asia’s largest public transport modernisation programmes funded by the ADB.

Since 2017, Gandhi has played a central role in growing ICE’s footprint in Malaysia. As ICE Malaysia Chair (2023–2025), he led the successful ICE Malaysia Conference 2025, initiated the Southeast Asia Speaker Tour, and strengthened policy-level engagement with ministries and local authorities. He actively supports collaboration with academic institutions, government stakeholders, and the industry to promote UK engineering excellence and shape the future of infrastructure across the region.

Ir. Prof. Dr. Jeffrey Chiang Choong Luin

Ir. Prof. Dr. Jeffrey Chiang Choong Luin is currently serving as President of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) for the 2024-2026 term.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Civil Engineering from the University of Wollongong, Australia (1991) and a PhD in Structural Engineering (1995).

He is a Professor of Civil Engineering at SEGi University, Malaysia, and previously served in senior academic leadership roles including Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment.

In industry, he initially worked as a structural engineer with Arup Jururunding Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur before transitioning to academia, where he has authored numerous papers and chaired technical committees including the Standards Malaysia Technical Committee for Concrete Structures Design (EC2) and the IEM Earthquake Design & Wind Load Standards Committee.

Mark Wild

Mark Wild, OBE, FREng, is the Chief Executive Officer of HS2 Ltd - leading the delivery of Britain’s new high-speed railway.

Stretching over 140 miles between London and the West Midlands, HS2 will better connect Britain’s two biggest cities, increase rail capacity and boost economic growth. HS2 is at peak construction, with around 33,000 people working on the project.

Mark joined HS2 in December 2024 and is focused on resetting Britain’s biggest construction programme.  He has more than 35 years of global infrastructure leadership experience, and joined HS2 from SGN, where he was responsible for one of the UK’s largest gas distribution networks.

As CEO of Crossrail from 2018 to 2022, Mark led a recovery of the £20bn programme to deliver one of the world’s most advanced high-frequency passenger rail services – the Elizabeth Line.  

The majority of his career has been in transportation infrastructure, including as MD of Westinghouse Signals, CEO of Public Transport Victoria, and MD of London Underground. Importantly, Mark puts safety and sustainability at the heart of his ethos, and is passionate about helping to develop the industry.

A proud Northeasterner who grew up in Durham, Mark is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and holds both a first-class engineering degree and an MBA from Leeds University.

YBhg. Datuk Mohd Zarif Mohd Hashim

Datuk Mohd Zarif Mohd Hashim has been CEO of MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) since 15 July 2020.   
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA.  

Prior to his MRT Corp role, he held senior positions at Sapura Group (including Group COO and Rail/Technology business cluster CEO) from 2007 onwards.

In his current position, he leads Malaysia’s major metro/rail infrastructure arm including MRT Putrajaya Line, the RTS Link (Johor–Singapore) and upcoming MRT3 Circle Line projects. This makes him a very strong candidate for the seminar in Malaysia, especially for the topic of “future of rail” and national infrastructure leadership.

Ts. Mazli Bin Mus

Ts. Mazli Mustaffa is the Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, the organisation responsible for the Singapore-Malaysia state of Sarawak’s flagship urban transit initiative, the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) — which uses Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) vehicles and advanced infrastructure for sustainable urban mobility.

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Communication & Control Engineering from Staffordshire University (UK) and a Master of Science in Integrated Construction Project Management from Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia).

With more than 20 years of experience in railway and transport engineering (his LinkedIn profile states “nearly three decades”), he has held senior roles in systems, telecommunications and signalling for major rail projects before taking on his current CEO role.

Stephen Allday

Stephen Allday is Executive Director at ARCS (Allday Rail Consultancy Services) in Sydney, bringing a deep global rail and systems engineering background.

He is a Chartered Engineer in electrical engineering and a Fellow of multiple railway/transport professional bodies including the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) and the Chartered Institute of Railway Operators.

His experience includes senior leadership roles in the UK, Middle East and Australia: e.g., Engineering Director for the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project, Executive Director for Procurement & Delivery at Canberra Metro, and Program Director for Systems at Saudi Arabia Railways. Given his strong operational and systems background across international rail projects, he would add a highly technical/industry-specific perspective to the programme.