In Forbes' 50 Over 50: Asia 2024 list, lawyer Ambiga joins film director Tunku Mona Reza and Apec's Rebecca Sta Maria as Malaysia's entrants
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan was amongst three Malaysian entrants announced today in Forbes' 50 Over 50: Asia 2024 list.
The list dedicated to spotlighting women, saw Ambiga joining with two other Malaysian entrants namely film director Tunku Mona Riza Tunku Khalid and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) secretariat executive director Tan Sri Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria amongst entrants from 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Each entrant was accompanied with a short background.
Ambiga was described as a prominent Malaysian lawyer and human rights advocate, who is also a recipient of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor and the Gandhi Memorial Trust Public Service Award.
During her stint as the Malaysian Bar president, Ambiga orchestrated the “March for Justice” and also chaired Bersih 2.0, an advocate for free and fair elections.
She holds a law degree from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
Riza, who is also the founder of Current Pictures — her production house — was mentioned alongside two of her films namely, Redha and Rain Town.
Redha was selected as Malaysia’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language category at the 89th Academy Awards or the Oscars.
Redha follows the story of a couple who have to make sacrifices to raise their autistic child.
As for Rain Town, the movie was Malaysia's first Chinese-language film by a Malay female director.
Rain Town follows Choo, a father of three grown children, Isaac, Alex and Ruby, who continue interfering in their personal lives, forcing them to abandon their dreams and happiness.
Premiering in February 2024, it was screened at last year’s Vancouver Asian Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India in Goa; while also receiving international recognition as the Most Anticipated Language Film at the 36th China Golden Rooster Awards held last November.
Before she was appointed the first female executive director for the 21-member inter-governmental economic advisory body in 2019, Rebecca served as the deputy secretary-general, and then secretary-general and lead trade negotiator for Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
During her stint, she oversaw the formulation of Malaysia’s international trade policies and positions, often serving as chief negotiator for bilateral and regional free trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
She has also represented the region at the World Economic Forum and previously was a non-executive director for RHB Bank.
