Draft:Thomas Fann

Thomas Fann is a Malaysian social/political activist and educator. Fann was the Chairperson of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (BERSIH), a coalition of 70 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that focuses on electoral and democratic reforms in Malaysia. He is currently the Chairman of a NGO he founded in 2013, ENGAGE.

In BERSIH he has served as the Southern Vice-Chair and Treasurer from 2013 to 2016 before his election as the Chair in October 2018 until he stepped down on 19 December 2023. He was active in voters registration, organising peaceful protests and spearheaded the Delineation Action & Research Team (DART) of Bersih to prepare the public to object to any unfair delineation of electoral boundaries by the Election Commission.

As a social activist he has also initiated several notable human rights projects like Freedom Fund that helped activists and citizens who were being persecuted by the previous government for expressing views that were deemed critical of the government. He also co-founded Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) to monitor the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and the others. Fann is also a founding member of Intan Lifezone Welfare Society, an NGO in Johor that support and treat people living with HIV, for which he is still the honorary treasurer.

Fann is based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, where he was born. He is married with two sons.