About

Yusmadi is a highly experienced Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya with over 20 years of practice in both contentious and non-contentious cases. He was called to the Bar in 1999 and has been trained and worked at several leading law firms, including Skrine & Co., Zaid Ibrahim & Co., Hisham Sobri & Kadir, and The Chambers of Kamarul Hisham, Hasnal Rezua & Yusmadi, where he gained a wealth of experience advising and defending high-profile individuals and companies both locally and internationally. He currently serves as a Senior Partner at Fahda Nur & Yusmadi law firm.

Apart from his legal practice, Yusmadi has a strong background in public service. He served as a Special Officer (Legislative Affairs) to YB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Leader of the Opposition, and as a Special Assistant to YB Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Yusmadi also served as a Member of Parliament for Balik Pulau from 2008 to 2013, during which time he was appointed to the Parliamentary Committee on Anti-Corruption by the YDP Agong. Additionally, Yusmadi served as a Senator and Ahli Dewan Negara representing Pulau Pinang from 2018 to 2021, where he chaired the Senate Reform Committee. Yusmadi was also invited by the Secretary General of Commonwealth as Election Observer for Maldives Pewsidential Election in 2013 and has observed election in Maryland and Virginia during USA Mid Term Election 2006.

Yusmadi is also the Chairman and Founder of RIGHTS Foundation, a think tank and charity organisation that promotes governance, human rights and social justice initiatives, and a Fellow at Institut Kajian Dasar (Institute for Policy Research), a think tank established by Anwar Ibrahim. He is a prolific writer, having authored two books, Lelaki Di Sebalik Pulau and Realising Senate Reform, and is a frequent speaker at various forums, conferences, and media outlets on current affairs issues.

Yusmadi received his education from Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah, Klang for SPM, and the Matriculation Centre of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) from 1992 to 1994. He then went on to receive his LL.B (Hons) from Kulliyyah of Laws, IIUM in 1998. In 2015, he was awarded an LL.M in International Legal Studies with specialization in Human Rights as a Fulbright Scholar at American University Washington College of Law, Washington D.C., USA. Yusmadi is currently pursuing his PhD in Law & Philosophy at International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC) and Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws at the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Yusmadi has received several honors and awards throughout his career, including being selected as the first cohort of the Lee Kuan Yew Senior Fellowship in Public Service at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS in 2020. He was also selected as a Draper Hills Democracy & Development Fellow at Stanford University in 2008, and as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow for Law and Human Rights in 2006-2007, hosted by American University Washington College of Law, Washington D.C., USA. Yusmadi has also been selected to participate in the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2004, organized by the US States Department in the United States of America.

Yusmadi was an Adjunct Professor (Pro bono) in Political Ethics at International Institute of Islamic Thoughts & Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and serves as a member of the interview panel for Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He is also a member of the Enriching Middle East Economy – Doha Forum initiated by the Qatar Government and Middle East Centre of Development, UCLA