Nathaniel Tan

Besides writing and publishing, Nathaniel Tan is also very passionate in education. He has served on the Harvard board of interviewers for three years – two of which (2008 and 2009) as an interviewer, and two (2010 and 2011) as an observer. He has also been one of the speakers for several US University Admission talks in Malaysia.

In late January 2010, about a month after its release, the Royal Malaysian Police and Home Ministry confiscated copies of Where is Justice? from bookstores in Penang and Malacca, prompting concerns that it may have been banned. The authorities also confiscated copies of 1FunnyMalaysia, another Kinibooks book, claiming that both books "could pose a threat to public order, morality, security". In a statement on his blog, Tan insisted that "We took considerable pains to ensure that everything in Where is Justice was carefully written to be factual, and all opinion therein had been previously published online. ... Don't shoot the messenger." On 5 February 2010, police in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, confiscated 12 copies of Where is Justice? and 10 of 1FunnyMalaysia; an officer who participated in the raid said "We are not banning the books but are just taking them to analyse their content." Malaysiakini is reportedly consulting its lawyers and considering legal action. A few days later, a further eight copies were seized from another Seremban bookstore, and another four from a Johor Bahru bookstore.

He has previously provided assistance to students applying to US universities. During his first year (2009) in this field, a number of Nat's 25 students were offered admission into Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Chicago, among others.

In early 2008, Kinibooks, the publishing branch of Malaysiakini, published Religion Under Siege?: Lina Joy, the Islamic State and Freedom of Faith, a book Tan co-edited with John Lee about religious and political issues in Malaysia. It later published Tan's and Lee's Political Tsunami: An End to Hegemony in Malaysia? in 2008, and Where is Justice?: Death and Brutality in Custody in late 2009.

Nat was the editor of a book on the conflict between former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, titled Mahathir vs. Abdullah: Covert Wars and Challenged Legacies and published in early 2007. He later co-edited a book on religion and politics with John Lee, Religion Under Siege?: Lina Joy, the Islamic State and Freedom of Faith, published in early 2008. Nat has since co-edited two books on Malaysian politics with Lee, Political Tsunami: An End to Hegemony in Malaysia? and Where is Justice?: Death and Brutality in Custody. The latter, a book concerning custodial deaths, including high-profile cases such as those of Altantuya Shaariibuu and Teoh Beng Hock, was confiscated from a number of bookstores in late January 2010, a month after its release, prompting concerns that it may have been banned by the Home Ministry.

In February 2007, a book edited by Nat, titled Mahathir vs. Abdullah: Covert Wars and Challenged Legacies, was published by the publishing arm of Malaysiakini. The book carried commentary by politicians such as Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng, and also articles by local commentators and activists.

On 13 July 2007, Tan was detained by three plainclothes policemen, who requested that he bring his notebook computer and follow them to the police headquarters at Bukit Aman. However, Tan's lawyer later stated that according to Bukit Aman, there was no record of his detention. A police report was filed alleging Tan had been kidnapped.

Nat originally lived in the Damansara Utama suburb of Petaling Jaya, before moving to Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur. He attended Sunway University College where he studied for his A Levels, before attending Harvard College in the United States, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 2004 with a Special Concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Home Ministry deputy secretary-general Ahmad Fuad Ab Aziz later said that the ministry's enforcement officers found the titles to be "offensive" and in violation of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. However, he said the ministry was still deciding whether it would ban the books in question.

Nathaniel Tan (born 1980) is a Malaysian of Chinese-Indian Peranakan descent. In July 2007, he came under the spotlight when he was detained by the Royal Malaysian Police for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act. He was then working with current Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. After being detained for a few days, he was released with no charges preferred.