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 Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy & Strategy), Ministry of Defence, on 19 December 2020.

Before he was appointed Deputy Permanent Secretary, he was Director for the Directorate of Defence Policy from 9 November 2017. He was the Head of the Legal Affairs Unit at the Permanent Secretary’s Office, Ministry of Defence, from 2003 to 2011 before he assumed the position of Acting Director of Defence Policy. As a legal advisor, he had extensive experience in commercial contracts and establishing broad defence-oriented legal frameworks through bilateral defence cooperation agreements.

During his tenure as the  Director of Defence Policy, he strengthened and enhanced bilateral and multilateral defence diplomacy achieved through regional and international cooperation. For example, he has chaired Joint Defence Working Committee meetings with Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States, facilitating cooperation in such fundamental areas as defence policy coordination, logistics support, research and development, joint military exercises, education and training, arms procurement, and exchange of classified information.

At the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Plus Meeting (ADMM-Plus) platforms, he 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 since 2013. Over the decade, he has successfully introduced several ADMM concept papers and projects, including the adoption of the Concept Paper on Establishing a Direct Communications Infrastructure (ADI) in the ADMM Process, a regional hotline designed to allow the defence ministers to communicate instantly through a secure hotline, further fostering cooperation and diffusing possible misunderstandings among ASEAN member states.

 He has also chaired the Ministry of Defence, Defence White Paper (DWP) Committee to publish the third and fourth DWP, which builds on existing foundations, including the national Wawasan 2035 vision and the three strategic defence pillars of deterrence and response, defence diplomacy, and holistic defence, or the seven priority areas reflected in the acronym IKWONDAMAI.

In recognition for his service and with the consent of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, he has been conferred with Pingat Indah Kerja Baik (P.I.K.B) in 2013 and The Most Blessed Order of Setia Negara Brunei 4th Class (P.S.B) in 2016.

He read Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, graduating in 1995 and was awarded his professional certificate of legal practice (CLP) from the Legal Profession Qualifying Board, Malaysia in 2006.

Haji Adi Ihram is married to Susanna and blessed with 3 daughters. Besides loving to travel and scuba dive, he is a qualified PADI divemaster and truly enjoys taking pictures underwater as a hobby.