Rahmat Mohamad

Professor Dato' Dr. Rahmat bin Mohamad is a Malaysian legal scholar and professor of law at the Universiti Teknologi MARA.

He was formerly the Chairman of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC).

Rahmat Mohamad first read law at Institut Teknologi MARA (now Universiti Teknologi MARA), Malaysia with Diploma in Law and later Advanced Diploma in Law in 1985.

He has served Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam in various capacities from 1986 onwards.

He then pursued his postgraduate course and obtained LL.M. in Commercial Law at the University of Bristol, England in 1986.

He gained his Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the University of Aberystwyth, Wales in 2001 entitled "Dispute Settlement Mechanism is the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)".

== Capacity as Head of Delegation / Secretary-General of AALCO in the United Nations and Other Inter-Governmental Meetings ==

During his tenure as Secretary-General, Rahmat Mohamad skillfully navigated a series of diplomatic conferences, taking on the mantle of Head of Mission.

These conferences were strategically aligned with the concerns of the AALCO Member State.

Notable among his engagements were his active participation in the First Review Conference of the ICC in Kampala, Uganda, and his involvement in an Informal Meeting between AALCO and the International Law Commission held in Geneva.

He served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Quality and Knowledge Advancement) (2003–2005), Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) (2005–2008), Assistant Vice Chancellor (Strategy) (2016) and Dean of Law Faculty (2017).

On 23 March 2021, on the recommendation of the Bureau and the candidates proposed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Environmental Law, the IUCN Council appointed Dr Nilufer Oral as the IUCN World Conservation Congress Elections Officer and Dr Rahmat Mohamad as the Deputy Elections Officer.

In July 2023, Rahmat Mohamad was conferred the title of Honorary Fellow by Aberystwyth University in United Kingdom.

Emeritus Professor John Williams of Aberystwyth University stated in the conferral presentation that:

... "Aberystwyth is proud of his achievements.  He is one of the many Aberystwyth alumni from Malaysia who have significantly impacted politics, law, and society in Malaysia and beyond".

Rahmat Mohamad also served the institution as the founding Assistant Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Quality and Knowledge Advancement (INQKA) from 2003 to 2005, where he held several significant roles.

He was responsible to strengthen university's quality agenda, serving as the institution's chief executive officer for International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) initiatives.

He was also acting as the Founding Director of the ASEAN Studies Centre, and representing UiTM at ASEAN conferences hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra).

Similarly, during his appointment as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development) from 2005 to 2008, Rahmat Mohamad assumed a range of important responsibilities.

These responsibilities encompassed securing top-down grants amounting to RM1.5 million from the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) for research in Taman Negara Kuala Keniam, founding a cadre of Young Research Leaders at UiTM, acquiring the Kuala Keniam Research Station within Taman Negara Perhilitan, and supervising the project evaluating the ripple effects of research activities in the Kuala Keniam area.

He also took on the role of Chairman and Organiser of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference held during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in 2005.

He has served the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization as the Secretary-General for two terms (2008–2012 and 2012–2016).

Rahmat was appointed the fifth Secretary- General of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) on 20 June 2008 at AALCO's 47th Annual Session held in New Delhi, India.

Rahmat has been actively involved in the Rome Statue of International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2008 through research publications and organising conferences, workshops and seminars.

He was subsequently unanimously reappointed on 18 June 2012 at AALCO's 51st Annual Session in Abuja, Nigeria.

Under his supervision, AALCO has also organized various conferences on topics as far-ranging as the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, and Competition Law.

He also introduced on the agenda of the Organization subjects of contemporary relevance such as International Law in Cyperspace, Legal Regime governing Marine Biodiversity and Legal Aspects of Violent Extremism and its manifestations.

Furthermore, he has delivered academic lectures and addresses at various academic institutions both in India and abroad.

In an effort to disseminate knowledge, both on international law in general, as well as on the Asian-African perspective, he has published books and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for several AALCO publications and journals.

He has commissioned, through the mandate of AALCO Member States, extensive research studies on topics crucially important to AALCO and its Members; topics have included Unilateral and Secondary Sanctions, Statehood of Palestinian, Cyber-law, and Marine Biodiversity.

Among the notable inputs was his intervention in the Putrajaya ICC Dialogue in 2012 prior to the First Review Conference held in Kampala, Uganda in 2012.

Apart from his diplomatic role, he has written on diverse topics in public international law.

During his role as the Assistant Vice Chancellor (Strategy) from 2016 to 2017, Rahmat Mohamad had several key responsibilities including (but not exclusive to) providing crucial insights to the Vice-Chancellor on university-related matters, strengthening the university's ties with stakeholders, conveying the Vice-Chancellor's mandates, strategies, and vision to the Deans and Rectorate, formulating strategies for the Vice-Chancellor's relationships and university leadership, and analysing, advising, and strategising concerning the university's political stance regarding Article 153.

In recognition of his 8 years contribution at AALCO, in 2016, he was appointed as a member of Eminent Person Group (EPG) of AALCO.

Rahmat Mohamad was the Dean of the Law Faculty at UiTM from 2017 to 2018.

Rahmat Mohamad was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry, Community and Alumni Network) of Universiti Teknologi MARA from November 2018 until November 2021.

During his tenure as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry, Community, and Alumni) at UiTM from 2018 to 2021, Rahmat Mohamad held diverse responsibilities.

These included overseeing the university's industry, community, and alumni networks, consolidating 45 alumni associations into a single organisation under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, fostering impactful collaborations between the industry and the university through various initiatives, launching sustainable community development programmes, preserving community-based eco-tourism initiatives in places like Keniam, Teluk Melano, and Sungai Tiang, leading the university's endowment strategy, and transforming the Centre for Industry, Community, and Alumni Networks into a data-driven centre through the SMART integrated reporting system and alumni portal.

Furthermore, he also took a lead role in conducting the 'Kajian Impak 20 Tahun Penubuhan UiTM,' which provided comprehensive analyses of UiTM's contributions to Malaysia's socio-economic development.

He was the Chairman of National Sports Institute of Malaysia from August 2019 until August 2023 and the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) from August 2022 until August 2023.