Senior Advisor Reinforces BDA’s Efforts Toward Sound Development Management
“As Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) positions itself in the driver seat in managing development during the Bangsamoro Transition Phase and beyond, the need for a cadre of technical experts, who share the same vision and commitment to reinforce BDA in serving the Bangsamoro, becomes urgent. This is especially true as the BDA Board of Directors, the highest governing body of the agency, strive to realize the agency’s mandate as development arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)”, said Dr. Saffrullah M. Dipatuan, BDA Chairman, when asked in a special meeting in Davao City on July 4, 2013.
Dr. Dipatuan disclosed that “in a Board Resolution signed on May 24, 2013, BDA designated Dr. Urooj S. Malik as Senior Advisor on Development Management to the Board of Directors of the Bangsamoro Development Agency”.
Dr. Dipatuan and members of the Board personally sought the blessings of their principal on Dr. Malik’s designation. The MILF Central Committee, in turn, concurred with the decision of the BDA Board after thorough deliberations. A brief background on Dr. Malik’s academic and professional achievements follows:
Dr. Urooj S. Malik is a natural resource and development economist with nearly 30 years of experience in the field of sustainable development and management. Prior to his current involvements, he was with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where his career spanned over two and half decades (1985-2010), having joined ADB through the Young Professionals Program.
At ADB, Dr. Malik covered a number of areas including, among others, economic and sector policy analysis; country strategy and program formulation; agriculture and rural development; and natural resources and environmental management. He has worked on socio-economic development plans in several Asian countries, notably in the post conflict countries of the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam), and authored strategic road maps for key development sectors. He was instrumental in helping to establish the Supreme National Economic Council in Cambodia, a government think-tank established to conduct economic policy research and analysis and reporting directly to the Office of the Prime Minister. Dr. Malik has pioneered work on numerous regional programs including, Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines- East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and the Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation Program (GMS).
During his last 10 years at ADB, Dr. Malik had served in ADB’s senior management stream, first as Country Director for Cambodia, then as Director for Mekong Infrastructure, and finally as Director for Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources for Southease Asia. He also served as co-chair of ADB-wide Environment Community of Practice, co-chair of the GMS working groups on agriculture and environment, and as a member of the Advisory Panel for the Study on the Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia.
Dr. Malik voluntarily opted for early retirement from ADB to pursue his interests in areas that he feels most passionately about, most especially, to undertake development work in Mindanao and the Bangsamoro. He was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Hineleban Foundation Inc., a social enterprise focusing on integrated ecosystem management and agri-business development in Mindanao.
Concurrent to his designation as Senior Advisor to the BDA Board of Directors, Dr. Malik holds the position of Regional Project Management Advisor at the Department of Agrarian Reform – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for a rural development project, and serves as a Convenor for the Sustainable Development Cluster at the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy.
Dr. Malik completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Natural Resource Use Policy and Planning at Wisconsin and Mineral / Energy Economics from Arizona, respectively. He also finished a Management Development Program at Cornell University, USA. He gained his Ph.D. in Resource and Development Management at the International Academy of Management and Economics, The Philippines. Dr. Malik has written and spoken extensively on the theme of sustainable development at various fora in Asia and elsewhere.
In his capacity as Senior Advisor, Dr. Malik will be providing strategic advice on policy and operational matters pertaining to development plans and projects, and helping to stregthen the capacity of the agency for effectively managing the Bangsamoro Transition Phase and beyond.
BDA Board and its Chairman warmly welcome Dr. Malik to the BDA family./BDA News and Information Bureau
