Head of School

Thank you for your interest in IGB International School (IGBIS). As the Head of School, and an IGBIS parent myself, I recognize that your family has many options for education in this vibrant city and we are excited that you are considering joining our unique school. 

Visiting us I know that you will feel the same warmth and welcome that our wonderful community creates each and every day. That special feeling is quite unique to IGBIS as our incredible spirit of community and diversity comes from the students, families and staff who represent more than 30 nationalities. Our staff alone comes from nearly 20 different nations and speaks over 10 languages. These dedicated and inspiring professionals are our most important resource in helping your child or young adult become the kind of human being the world needs.

Inclusion is central to IGB International School’s mission, and we are proud of the commitment we have made to all of our students’ needs and aspirations. Our aim is to ensure that every student is known, cared for, challenged, and belongs. We are committed to maximizing the potential of all the students in our school so that they can pursue their own path forward after leaving our doors. Using our diversity as a platform, our students also develop “intercultural competence”, giving them the ability to easily navigate and flow between and among different nationalities and complex cultural situations—and to do so with tremendous empathy, diplomacy and tact.

IGBIS is the first and only four-programme continuum school in Malaysia and it is through the IB’s philosophy and values that we develop the whole human being. Confident young IB learners are courageous in their willingness to question what they observe around them. Students are able to take complex and often disparate knowledge, concepts and skills and forge these into new and unique ways of solving problems and adding value to their world. Our students graduate performing well above the global IB Diploma average, something that is important to us as a school, but far from the entire measure of them being great human beings. 

We make learning relevant and exciting for students, as we continually draw connections between what they learn in the classroom and the world outside the school walls. Perhaps most importantly, we encourage our young people to reflect on their learning—and to act on it in the service of others. We believe learning must be for action otherwise we simply cannot pursue our desire to impact lives and ignite minds.

I hope you will come to visit us and spend some time at the school and experience first-hand the unique, vibrant and wonderfully inclusive community that is IGBIS.

Jason McBride, Head of School

---

Governance

Detik Harapan Sdn Bhd

IGBIS is owned and operated by Detik Harapan Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of IGB Corporation Berhad.  Detik Harapan Sdn Bhd received approval from the Ministry of Education in 2011 to establish IGBIS.

IGB Corporation

IGB Corporation is a renowned and highly respected leader in corporate initiatives and property development in Malaysia and beyond. As part of its broader corporate social responsibility, it sees IGB International School as an opportunity to provide education that meets the challenges we face in this fast-changing, interconnected global community.

IGB International School Governance and Management

IGB International School is governed by a Board of Governors which meets twice a year and a Management Board which meets monthly.

Board of Governors

Tan Sri Abu Talib bin Othman

Tan Sri Abu Talib qualified as a Barrister-at-law from Lincoln’s Inn, United Kingdom. He has served in various capacities in the Judicial and Legal Service of the Malaysian Government. He was the Attorney-General of Malaysia from 1980 until his retirement in October 1993. He is Chairman of the Board of Governors of IGB International School.  

Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Lin See Yan

Professor Tan Sri Dr Lin is an independent strategic and financial consultant. Prior to 1998, he was Chairman/President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Bank Group and for 14 years previously, Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (the Central Bank), has been a central banker for 34 years. Tan Sri Dr Lin continues to serve the public interest, including Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Council Working Group, Competition Appeal Tribunal; Member of a number of key Steering Committees at Ministry of Higher Education (including the Putrajaya Higher Education Task Force); Economic Advisor, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia; Member, Asian Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee; Board Director, Monash University Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Sunway University Sdn Bhd; and Governor, Asian Institute of Management, Manila. Tan Sri Dr Lin is Chairman Emeritus of Harvard University’s Graduate School Alumni Association Council in Cambridge (USA) as well as President, Harvard Club of Malaysia. He is also Pro-Chancellor & Research Professor, Sunway University; Pro-Chancellor, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Professor of Economics (Adjunct), Universiti Utara Malaysia;  and Trustee of the Tun Ismail Ali Foundation (PNB), Harvard Club of Malaysia Foundation, Prime Minister’s Exchange Fellowship Malaysia, Malaysian Economic Association Foundation and Jeffrey Cheah Foundation. Professionally qualified in the United Kingdom as a Chartered Statistician, Tan Sri Dr Lin is also a banker, economist and venture entrepreneur, having received three post-graduate degrees from Harvard University (including a PhD in Economics) where he was a Mason Fellow and Ford Scholar. He is a British Chartered Scientist. Tan Sri Dr Lin is an Eisenhower Fellow and a Fellow of the IMF Institute (Washington DC), Royal Statistical Society (London), Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, Malaysian Insurance Institute (Hon.), Malaysian Institute of Management and Malaysian Economic Association. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia. Tan Sri Dr Lin advises and sits on the Board of several public companies, and a number of business enterprises in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia engaged in mining, petroleum-related products, property development, software and private equity. 

Chua Seng Yong

Chua Seng Yong holds a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University, Australia, and a Master in Business Administration from Cranfield School of Management, United Kingdom. He joined IGB as Financial Controller in 1994 and has more than 30 years of experience in the property and hotel industries. He is presently the Executive Assistant to the Group Managing Director and heads the procurement, information technology and corporate and legal affairs of IGB Group. 

Lister Wellesley Hannah

Mr Lister Hannah has been involved with the International Baccalaureate (IB) for the last 37 years. He has headed a number of prestigious IB-related schools in the US, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia.  He was a founding member of the IB Heads’ Committee, has been on the board of the European Council of International Schools, chaired many international school accreditations for the Council of International Schools and has consulted widely.  In recent years, Mr Hannah has also co-founded and led the development of several IB schools in Asia. He was the executive chairman then chairman of the IGBIS Management Board from the founding to the opening of the school. Mr Hannah is a graduate of the University of Melbourne in History, Literature and Politics and his graduate studies in educational administration and leadership were at Dalhousie University, Canada, and Rutgers University, USA.

Mohamed Tawfik Ismail

Representative of the Ilwan Tawfik Education Services Sdn Bhd, a shareholder in Detik Harapan. Initially, a banker, became Group General Manager, Fleet Group and set up Malaysia’s first private television network, TV3. Elected to Parliament 1984 then appointed a Director in several subsidiaries of Pemas Holdings. Started the Tun Dr Ismail International School in Johor Bahru, the first licenced international school in that city.  IGB Corp was invited to join the investment and later, IGB International School was founded in Selangor. He has written extensively on Malaysian history, especially on his father’s (Tun Dr Ismail) role as one of the founders of the nation. A graduate of the University of New England, Australia, and Oxford University. 

Management Board

 Chua Seng Yong

 Tawfik bin Ismail

 Ms Elizabeth Tan