Dato’ Halipah Esa

Dato’ Halipah Esa, 75, a Malaysian, is a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of SD Guthrie Berhad (formerly known as Sime Darby Plantation Berhad) (SD Guthrie). She was appointed to the Board of SD Guthrie on 1 September 2020.

She began her career in 1973 with the Administrative and Diplomatic Services in the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department. She has served in various areas of economic development including macroeconomics, human resources, environment and natural resources, infrastructure, water supply, energy, health, education, housing, urban services, poverty eradication and equity distribution, agriculture, and the manufacturing and services sectors. Prior to her retirement from the civil service in 2006, she was appointed Director General of the EPU. During her tenure, she played a key role in developing national policies, programmes and projects to tackle environment and sustainability issues, including the Sustainable Development of Highland Areas, Wetlands, Coastal Zones and Biodiversity conservation.

Dato' Halipah has also served as Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance and was appointed as a consultant to the World Bank as well as the United Nations Development Programme.

She has served on the Boards of various companies, namely, S P Setia Berhad, Cagamas Berhad, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad, Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad, Petronas, MISC Berhad, KLCC Property Holdings Berhad, NCB Holdings Berhad, Northport (Malaysia) Bhd, UDA Holdings Berhad, Employees Provident Fund, Pensions Trust Fund, Inland Revenue Board, Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad, FELDA, Putrajaya Corporation, Putrajaya Holdings Berhad, Malaysia Maritime Academy Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Authority.

Dato’ Halipah holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Economics and a Master of Economics degree from the University of Malaya. She has also obtained various certifications, including a Certificate in Economic Management from the IMF Institute, Washington and the Kiel Institute for World Economy (Germany), a Certificate in Advanced Management Programme from the Adam Smith Institute (London), and a Certificate in Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies from University of Cambridge.

Training Programmes Attended for the Period from 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024