YB Jenifer Lasimbang
Assistant Minister in the Sabah Ministry of Education and Innovation

YB Jenifer Lasimbang was recently elected as Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Education and Innovation, Sabah. She has a Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction from Indiana University, USA and BA in Information Technology (Hon) from University Utara Malaysia, Kedah. YB Jenifer was a consultant for UNICEF Malaysia from 2014 - 2017 and UN’s Development Programme (Bangkok, 2008 – 2009). She also served as a freelance consultant, researcher and volunteer for JOAS, PACOS Trust, TONIBUNG, KadazanDusun Language Foundation and MERCY Malaysia. YB Jenifer was an IT lecturer at University Malaysia Sabah (2000 - 2001) and Informatics College from 1999 - 2000. She has written and published Red and Raw: Indigenous Rights in Malaysia and the Law (JOAS, 2015) and reported on Asia Indigenous People’s Perspectives on Development (2011) among others. She has contributed to Malaysian indigenous communities in the area of IT empowerment by designing sustainable models, implementing community-based projects and organizing trainings. Besides advocating for ICT literacy among rural communities, she has also fought for children’s rights in Sabah and helped establish the Children’s Rights CSO coalition. In 2007, she was involved in The Second Malaysian Indigenous People’s Conference on Education (MIPCE II). Currently, she is actively involved in the Malaysian political scene as an advocator for women, children and the indigenous people of Sabah.