Wan Saiful Wan Jan is the Founding Chief Executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. He received his education at boarding school Sekolah Alam Shah

Sekolah Alam Shah

Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah , or 'SAS' ', is an all-boys fully residential school located in Putrajaya, Malaysia...

, Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, before heading to Tonbridge School

Tonbridge School

Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He holds a BA (Hons) in Management from Northumbria University

Northumbria University

Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...

  and an MSc in Research Methodologies from Middlesex University

Middlesex University

Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...

.

Wan Saiful lived in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 between August 1993 and October 2009. He worked for several organisations there, including the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit

Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit

The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit is a think-tank for the Commonwealth of fifty-three nations and nearly two billion citizens. The head office is located in Russell Square at the University of London's Institute of Commonwealth Studies and is part of the School of Advanced Study.- History:The...

 think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

, the British Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

’s Research Department, and Social Enterprise London. From 2007 to 2009, he was vice chair of Luton Conservative Association and Head of Policy for the Conservative Muslim Forum

Conservative Muslim Forum

The Conservative Muslim Forum is a group within the British Conservative Party. It aims to increase Conservative Party's knowledge and comprehension of issues and circumstances that have particular relevance to Muslim communities and develop suitable responses. It also seeks to increase support for...

. In May 2007, he contested in the English local elections as a Conservative Party candidate.

Wan Saiful is also Editor of AkademiMerdeka.org, a project of Atlas Global Initiative to promote libertarian ideas to speakers of Bahasa.

He was a columnist for Utusan Malaysia

Utusan Malaysia

Utusan Malaysia is a Malay language pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised letters...

, and now has columns in:

• The Edge (first Saturday of every month),
• The Star (iPad edition, every Wednesday, fortnighly),
• Harakah (every Friday, fortnightly)
• The Malaysian Insider (twice a month, no fixed day)

He has also written Forewords for the following books:

• Perak: a state of crisis (2010) edited by Audrey Quay
• Perspektif Perlembagaan (2010) oleh Professor Abdul Aziz Bari
• Abiding Times (2011) by YAM Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin Muhriz

Wan Saiful was born in Alor Star, Kedah, in 1975. At that time his father, Wan Jan bin Wan Chik, was a police officer in Kedah and they lived at the police barrack on Jalam Kolam Ayer. In 1982, heis family moved Taman Beseri Jaya, Perlis. Wan Saiful went to primary school at Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato Arifin Md Nam, Perlis. His mother, Shamsiah Said, was also a teacher at that same school.

Involvement with the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)

While in the United Kingdom, Wan Saiful was very actively involved in the PAS-linked organisation, Al-Hizbul Islami or HIZBI. He was Secretary General in 1997, President in 2000-04, and Mursyid in 2004-2006. The post of Mursyid, or chair of the Syura Council, is the highest position in the organisation. The organisation, however, forced him to resign from the post of Mursyid after he joined the Conservative Party in 2005, arguing that such an action is against PAS' policies. The last meeting he chaired as Mursyid was on 8 April 2006, at Bewley Hotel, Manchester. It was in that meeting that the subsequent Mursyid of the organisation proposed that Wan Saiful must resign, and suggested that joining a British party is unIslamic.

Wan Saiful, however, remains a life-member of PAS.