Dr. Toh is a senior research fellow at the Penang Institute, previously known as the Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, of which he was chairman (1997?2008). Dr. Toh was a three-term member of the State Legislative Assembly and a State Minister (1995-2008) in Penang, Malaysia, as well as a Senator in Malaysia’s National Parliament (1993-1995). Prior to entering politics, he taught at the National University of Malaysia where he focused on economics and political economy (1973-1993). Dr. Toh was previously a consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization; ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta; Institute of Developing Economies, Tokyo; the World Development Institute, Helsinki; and the World Bank. He had previously been a visiting fellow to the University of Sydney; Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore; University of the Philippines; and the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies. He obtained his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Malaya and his M.A. from the University of Leeds.