Bio: Alfi Syahrin is currently studying at Padjadjaran University, majoring at Economics. Previously, Alfi has participated in training about the importance of the Rule of Law from Freedom Institute Indonesia and Friedriech Naumman Stiftung (2014). He has also have joined the International conference of the Indonesia Regional Science Association (IRSA) in Bali (2015) to present his research about Economics and health. Furthermore, Alfi has participated in a training by the Center of Indonesia Policy Studies (CIPS) about public policy and role of low-cost, private school to solve Indonesia’s education problem (2015).

On why Alfi participates in SFL’s Charter Teams program: “In Indonesia, the government tends to abuse it’s power by corruption and intervenes in the market with ineffective policy and mismanagement. This causes a lot of problems for the well-being of the people and wastes taxpayer money. Because of this, me and my friends founded the SFL Indonesia – Bandung chapter to promote and spread the ideas of liberty and give a new perspective on solving the problems that plague the nation, especially about individual rights, from civil rights to economic rights. The movement keeps getting bigger and expanding!”

Bio: Eung Jin “Jeff” Lee, like Steve Kim, considers himself an Anarcho-Capitalist.  He became a libertarian after talking to Gye Woon about libertarianism. His favorite libertarian scholars are Murray Rothbard and Ron Paul. Jeff has also chosen a very libertarian field of study, information security.

• Best presenter Award from Korean Hayek Society
• Member from Libertarian Party of Korea

Bio: Giyoung Lee got to know about libertarianism through Facebook in 2013. However he became very passionate about libertarianism after reading a book “For a New Liberty” by Murray Rothbard in 2015. When he learned about libertarianism, he was glad that he finally realized what he believed was truth. He wants to continue to grow SFL-Korea because he wants other students to learn about libertarianism.

Best Libertarianism presentation award from Korean Hayek Society.

Bio: Gye Woon “Allen” Jeon is Korean and majored in political science. Since he was a high school student, human rights issues in North Korea have been the main issue to him. These human rights concerns drove him to join the movement called Liberty in North Korea. He used to be Korean-Conservative (Korean Nationalism). However, Hyungjin “William” Park gave him a book called “For a New Liberty”, which was written by Murray Rothbard, and Gye Woon became Libertarian after reading that book. He co-founded Libertarian Party of Korea because he, Hyungjin “William” Park, and Sun Jong “Francis” Park felt like someone should spread the word of libertarianism. In addition, he co-founded SFL Korea in order to gather the college students to learn about libertarianism.

• Libertarian Party of Korea (Co-founder & Editor) (2015.02 ~)
• Member of college students committee in Saenuri party (Korean Right Wing party)(2013.08-2013.11)
• Vice Chairman of college students committee in Saenuri Party (2013.11-2014.09)
• Chairman of Youthtlak committee in Saenuri Party(2014.04-2014.07)
• Director of Korean College Students Forum(2015.01 – 2015.06)
• Intern in the Center for Free Enterprise (2014.12 – 2015.06)
• Member from Liberty in North Korea(2008.06 ~ 2012. 11)

Bio: Mohammad Hafizz Dzulkifli was born in Miri, Sarawak, a state in eastern Malaysia on January 6th, 1992 and is one of five siblings. He graduated from Religious Secondary School of the Johor Government in 2009. Afterwards, Hafizz continued his studies at the University of Putra Malaysia and graduated in November 2015 with a Bachelors of Forestry Sciences. Hafizz enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, trekking, and caving. He has traveled around the country to do such activities with friends.

During his study at university, Hafizz held positions as Floor Representative and Chairman of Spiritual and Character Development Secretariat in the Highest Student Council board of Tun Dr. Ismail College. Additional, he co-founded the Kelas Pencerahan (Enlightenment Class) as part of the secretariat program in September 2013. After university officials rejected the program, the Enlightenment Class was moved outside the university where it remains today as an independent organization. During one of their lecture series, the participants had to sit on the floor and in the dark after the proposed venue was closed by the university.

The Enlightenment Class has been actively organizing lectures and discussions about politics, culture, human rights, racial and religious, historical, environmental and economic in a local context.

Bio: Haikal Kurniawan is currently studying political science at the University of Indonesia. Haikal developed an interest in the ideas of liberty in high school when he attended seminars and discussions hosted by pro-liberty organizations in Indonesia, like the Freedom Institute. From here, he was introduced to the wide array of libertarian thinkers and figures like John Stuart Mill and F.A. Hayek. In addition to his involvement with Charter Teams, Haikal is a coordinator with the libertarian organization Indo-Libertarian and a columnist for the libertarian website SuaraKebebasan.org (Voices of Freedom).

Favorite Figures in Liberty: John Stuart Mill, F. A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard

Favorite Books about Liberty: On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek, The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard

Bio: Imantaka Nugraha is an active student at Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia, majoring in business law. As a student, he has been and continues to be actively involved in various student activities. In 2014, he was appointed as a Jurisprudential Study Manager of an autonomous student body in his campus that engaged in legal research and studies. Later that year, Taka co-founded a student organization which focuses on issues of peace and tolerance. As a person who strongly believes in the ideas of freedom, liberty, and peace, he is motivated to promote his thoughts to his fellow students. In order to spread the ideas of freedom and liberty, Taka loves to speak at public discussions and events. In early 2015, he was selected by a local human rights-oriented NGO to speak and share his perspective on peace, freedom, and tolerance regarding religious freedom issues in Indonesia.

Taka’s great interest in the ideas of freedom, liberty, and peace also motivated him to join the International Society for Individual Liberty World Conference in June 2015. The opportunity brought him closer to other students from around the world who share the same beliefs and ideas. Soon after the ISIL conference, he co-founded Students for Liberty-Indonesia alongside with several other students with the goal of promoting the ideas of freedom, liberty, and peace in his homeland. SFL-Indonesia has grown rapidly and held a number of events, in which Taka has been directly involved as an organizer as well as the speaker himself on a handful of occasions. Taka believes that story-telling with a bit of humor is a good way to promote the ideas of freedom, liberty, and peace.

Favorite Figures in Liberty: F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Frederic Bastiat

Bio: President of Libertarian Party of Korea. Actually, he was a conservative who advocated government intervention on personal liberty. At the time, he did not know about libertarianism and he hated government’s economic intervention because he believed that economic freedom could make society prosperous and rich like the experience of Korea. Being unaware of the libertarian philosophy, he only had two options. One is Liberal, the other is Conservative. That is why he was a conservative.

When he was a freshman in college, however, he became a libertarian. In 2009, he read Meltdown by Thomas Woods Jr. of the Mises Institute. The book changed his life for three reasons. First of all, he has become aware of Austrian Economics. Second of all, he has become aware of libertarianism. Last, he has become aware of his libertarian hero Ron Paul because he wrote foreword in his book.

After reading the book, he Googled Ron Paul and was amazed because Ron Paul was the only statesman that had spoken the truth. Not only that, but also he is a person of consistency. Those features attracted him and made him study libertarianism deeply.

Now, he has co-founded the Libertarian Party of Korea with his friends. Although this is not a formal party in Korea partially because of the lack of members and funding, they make an effort to spread libertarianism for Korea. It looks very small and trifle, but as far as he is concerned, it is a giant step for libertarians in Korea.

Ron Paul said, “Elections are short term efforts. Revolutions are long term projects.” he respects Ron Paul’s legacy and wants to expand libertarianism in the world. So let’s together fight the good fight for peace, justice, and prosperity.

Bio: Jean Charles Michel (James) is 25 years old and from Port au Prince, Haiti. James’s native languages are Creole and French, but he also speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish. He has a bachelors degree in the Science of Management and is currently studying political science with a specialization in International Relations.

In 2012, James founded Association Universitaire Haitien pour le development Intellectuel et Social (AUHDI, in English, “Haitian University Association for the Social and Intellectual Development”). AUHDI is a student development organization.

James has also completed SFL’s Liberty 101 course and SFL’s Charter Teams training program, making him an official member of SFL’s Global Charter Teams Program. James is excited to start SFL in Haiti and to hold SFL’s first events in the country.

Bio: Jento Chan is an economics student who has believed in the power of the free market since learning the basic principles of economics in university.  Jento took part in the Umbrella protests in 2014 and hoped that the protests would bring changes to Hong Kong.  Afterwards, however, Jento began to re-evaluate the Umbrella protests and decided that masses of Hong Kong citizens fighting for democracy would not bring a better future to Hong Kong.  He believes that most of the Umbrella protesters were fighting for bigger government, regardless of what party or ideology they aligned with.  Jento joined SFL-Hong Kong because he thinks it’s the best way to spread libertarianism to other university students and amplify the voice of pro-free market students in Hong Kong.

Bio: Louis is a sophomore at Shue Yan University in Hong Kong. As a student, he participated in the anti-moral and national education movement as a protester in the July 2012 ‘Anti-brainwashing subject great demonstration’, as well as the recent Occupy Central Movement. Though these events Louis witnessed the first tear gas fired upon protesters, government officials pointing guns at students, and other police brutalities. Most importantly, however, Louis’s participation affirmed the strength of the Hong Kong people in their fight for individual freedom, for freedom of expression and against totalitarian government.

Louis was selected as the student representative of the Lion Rock Institute to speak at occasions of significance such as Hong Kong’s legislative council, EFN Asia Liberal Conference (2014), and the Asia Liberty Forum in Nepal (2015). He was also nominated to an internship position at the Acton Institute in Michigan, United States, in the summer of 2014. He occasionally writes for local newspapers about free market ideas and sees humor as the most effective way to spread libertarianism.

Bio: Muhammad Fariq Farhan bin Mohd Salleh or “Paan” is a member of SFL’s Charter Teams program in Malaysia. He is among the co-founders of the Progressive Student Movement (SisPro), an independent student group in Malaysia and organizes weekly public discussions. Their most recent program titled “Islam is a Religion of Peace” was held in September. Paan says that “our biggest obstacle in organizing these public talks is to find a place because every single time, Special Branch (SB) will come and ask the owner of the restaurant to chase us away.”

Paan is a middler at the Islamic Science University of Malaysia, Nilai. He’s studying five year law and is participating in the Islamic law program. Last September, Paan was selected as the youth representative for the Malaysian Youth Council in Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Youth Debates 2015. He occasionally writes for online newspapers on several issues including human rights. “I found that being a libertarian is being a gentleman and it is such a peaceful world if everyone is being a gentleman. To spread the idea is a must and obligatory,” Paan says about libertarianism.

Bio: Nam Woong “Steve” Kim is an international student in Penn State University. He is originally from Republic of Korea (South Korea) and considers himself as Anarcho-Capitalist. He became Libertarian when he watched Dr. Ron Paul’s debate during 2012 primary season. It was Murray Rothbard who converted him from Minarchism to Anarcho-Capitalism. He founded SFL Korea because he felt that there is not even a single Libertarian Think Tank in Korea. He is sick of statists in Korea who advocate government published history textbooks and phone surveillance. He wishes that many young Koreans start to have an interest in libertarianism through SFL-Korea.

Other Positions:

• Libertarian Party of Korea (Head of Department of International Relations)(2015.10~)
• Columnist in CalFocus(2015.04~)
• Blogger(Libertarian ways of thinking)(2015.09~)
• Editor and Officer in Penn State Young Americans for Liberty (2016.01~)
• Co-Founder and Editor in Penn State WIKI (2016.01~)
• Member of Libertarian party(2016.01~)

Bio: Rofi Uddarojat is a graduate from Paramadina University where he studied International Relations. He earned an academic certificate for best undergraduate thesis from Paramadina University under-title “Model Analysis of State Capitalism: Study Case of Economic Development of China (2002-2012)”. Rofi has participated in the “Think Tank Management And Leadership” training in New Delhi, India, which has been a training from ATLAS Leadership Academy, USA. In the same year, he represented young Indonesian libertarians at the International Students for Liberty Conference (ISFLC) in Washington DC, US.

Rofi now is a researcher at Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS). He founded Indonesian Students for Liberty in 2015 with rising young leaders in Indonesia.

Bio: Tarmizi Anuwar graduated from Universiti Putra Malaysia in Physical Education (Bachelor) in 2012. He is actively involved in various student organisations. While completing his undergraduate degree, he was a Deputy President for Tun Dr. Ismail College, one of the residential colleges in UPM.

In 2011, he became Chair of Pro-Mahasiswa UPM, a major students movement in his university. In 2013, he started group named “Kelas Pencerahan” or Enlightenment Class which organizes lectures and classes that discusses regarding politics, culture, human rights, racial and religion, history, environment and economy in a local context.

He is pursuing his studies in Political Sciences (MA) at National University of Malaysia since September 2015 and is working as a Assistant Coordinator for School of Democracy. Tarmizi is also experienced as a Right to Justice Coordinator in Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), an organizational actively working for human and political rights in Malaysia.