YM RAJA DATIN RIZA SHAZMIN BT RAJA BADRUL SHAH
YM Raja Datin Riza is a lawyer by training. She was called to the Malaysian Bar in January 2000. She started her legal career in one of the big law firms in Kuala Lumpur. She later founded her legal firm in 2004 and remained as the Managing Partner until September 2018. Trained as a Litigator, her areas of practice were General Litigation and Banking law as well as Syariah Advisory. She graduated with an LLB(Hons) from the University of Glamorgan United Kingdom in 1997 (now known as the University of South Wales) and Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) from Brickfields College in 1998. She also holds a Diploma in Syarie Legal Practice (DSLP) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
Raja Riza’s passion for charity work and volunteerism began when she was growing up in Ghent, Belgium. She started volunteering for MERCY Malaysia in 2003 and her first mission was to Acheh in 2005, post-tsunami. She was an EXCO member of MERCY Malaysia from 2006-2023). She was the Vice President II and the legal consultant of MERCY Malaysia until June 2023).
Prior to holding the position of Vice President II, Raja Riza was the Honorary Secretary of MERCY Malaysia from 2006- 2017. She oversaw the organization’s legal and compliance matters in addition to overseeing the Communications and Fundraising Department in MERCY Malaysia. Under legal and compliance, Raja Riza led in building the systems and developed the legal and compliance processes for MERCY Malaysia.
Her role in Communications and Fundraising department was mainly to strategize and assist the team at the MERCY Malaysia HQ to plan and implement the fundraising campaigns and events. Raja Riza has been the person leading MERCY Malaysia’s Annual Fundraising Dinner(s), the International Humanitarian Run, and many other fundraising events. Raja Riza has also contributed to the drafting of the policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for this department. Raja Riza is no stranger to MERCY Malaysia’s missions, having been deployed to Belum, Perak, Kelantan, Johor, and Sabah including international missions to Aceh, Yogyakarta, Nias, Medan, Maldives, Ormoc the Philippines, Myanmar and Palu.
Raja Riza is also one of the founding Trustees of MERCY Malaysia United Kingdom (MMUK), an independent UK organization set up under the Charities Commission UK. She played an integral role in establishing the United Kingdom office.
Professionally, after almost 20 years as an Advocate and Solicitor, Raja Riza retired from legal practice and joined the Sunway Education Group (SEG) in October 2018 to set up the Philanthropy Office. She was the first Director of Philanthropy, which oversees the philanthropy and development for the Sunway Education Group. A new era for Raja Riza, where her vast experience as a lawyer meets her passion for charity and philanthropy. Her role was to build the systems & strategize for the Philanthropy Office (PO). One of the PO’s objectives is to cultivate the art of giving back to one’s alma mater. To date, the PO has successfully established two funds called the Sunway Business School Students Helping Hands Support Fund (SSHH) in 2019 and the SEG COVID-19 Student Support Fund in 2020. Both funds are aimed to assist Sunway University and Sunway College students who require assistance. The PO was actively involved in assisting students in need during the Movement Control Order (MCO) in 2020 and 2021. After 3 years in SEG, Raja Riza embarked on a new journey as an independent consultant, in giving back to society in her niche area of – the law and humanitarian work in assisting & empowering the communities in need.
Raja Riza was the past Vice President of Kelab Wanita Ikon Malaysia (KWIM) until August 2023, a non-governmental organization registered under the Societies Act Malaysia focuses on empowering and assisting women (particularly B40 women) of all races and religions in cultivating the culture of entrepreneurship. She held the compliance and fundraising portfolio. She is an avid speaker on issues such as Women Empowerment, Volunteerism, Good Governance in an NGO, NGO Transparency and Accountability.
Raja Riza was a member of the Merdeka Award Nomination Committee under the Education & Community category from 2020 to 2022