HAJI ADI IHRAM BIN DATO PADUKA HAJI MAHMUD
DEPUTY PERMANENT SECRETARY (POLICY AND STRATEGY)
Haji Adi Ihram bin Dato Paduka Haji Mahmud was appointed as the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy & Strategy) at the Ministry of Defence on December 19, 2020.
Before assuming his role as Deputy Permanent Secretary, he served as the Director for the Directorate of Defence Policy starting from November 9, 2017. Prior to that, he held the position of Head of the Legal Affairs Unit at the Permanent Secretary's Office in the Ministry of Defence from 2003 to 2011. During this time, he gained extensive experience as a legal advisor, specializing in commercial contracts and the establishment of comprehensive legal frameworks for defense cooperation through bilateral agreements.
As the Director of Defence Policy, Haji Adi Ihram played a pivotal role in strengthening bilateral and multilateral defense diplomacy through regional and international cooperation. Notably, he chaired Joint Defence Working Committee meetings with countries such as Australia, France, Japan, the Kingdom of Jordan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These meetings facilitated collaboration in critical areas such as defense policy coordination, logistics support, research and development, joint military exercises, education and training, arms procurement, and the exchange of classified information.
Furthermore, Haji Adi Ihram represented Brunei Darussalam as the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting Working Group (ADSOM WG) and ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting Working Group Plus (ADSOM WG Plus) Leader at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting (ADMM-Plus) platforms since 2013. Over the past decade, he successfully introduced various concept papers and projects within the ADMM framework. One notable achievement was the adoption of the Concept Paper on Establishing a Direct Communications Infrastructure (ADI) in the ADMM Process. This regional hotline allows defense ministers to communicate instantly and securely, fostering cooperation and diffusing potential misunderstandings among ASEAN member states.
Additionally, Haji Adi Ihram chaired the Ministry of Defence, Defence White Paper (DWP) Committee responsible for publishing the third and fourth DWP. These documents build upon existing foundations, including the national Wawasan 2035 vision and the three strategic defense pillars of deterrence and response, defense diplomacy, and holistic defense. The DWP also encompasses the seven priority areas represented by the acronym IKWONDAMAI.
In recognition of his outstanding service, Haji Adi Ihram has been honored with the Excellent Service medal (P.I.K.B) in 2013, The Most Blessed Order of Setia Negara Brunei, 4th Class medal (P.S.B) in 2016, The Long Service medal (P.K.L) in 2018 and The Most Honourable Order of Seri Mahkota Brunei (S.M.B), 3rd Class Medal in 2021 with the consent of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
Haji Adi Ihram pursued his education at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, where he studied Law and graduated in 1995. He also obtained his professional certificate of legal practice (CLP) from the Legal Profession Qualifying Board, Malaysia, in 2006.
Outside of his professional endeavors, Haji Adi Ihram is happily married to Susanna and they are blessed with three daughters. He has a passion for travel and scuba diving and holds the qualification of a PADI divemaster. He thoroughly enjoys capturing underwater moments through photography as a hobby.
