Dr Saim Suratman is the Malaysian resource person on hydrogeology to UNESCO and International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC). He has served in various fields covering engineering and environmental geology, and hydrogeology. He worked on several significant hydrogeological projects and promoted the sustainable utilisation of groundwater in Malaysia e.g. Sg Muda Basin. He was instrumental in the certification process of the bottled natural mineral water industry. He prepared numerous Policy and Cabinet Papers on the management of groundwater resources which are essential in providing direction to the government on the sustainable development of groundwater resources. He also cooperated in several international collaborations involving JICA, Japan Geological Survey, ASEAN Foundation, CSIRO, University of Okayama and UNESCO on issues on sustainable groundwater management, a database for CCOP countries, capacity building for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) Project in ASEAN Countries, and groundwater contamination studies and transboundary aquifers in Asian countries. He is one of the pioneers in modern hydrogeology in the country, employing state of the art technologies and bringing back innovative ideas due to his exposure overseas. He brought in an important innovative approach to Malaysia when he collaborated with CSIRO (Australia) in the technique known as Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR). He was responsible for bringing new technology such as software and modern equipment for groundwater resources management and was amongst the earliest hydrogeologists to adopt groundwater modelling for sustainable groundwater management in Malaysia. He has successfully introduced the utilisation of several software packages for managing groundwater resources to the Minerals and Geoscience Department (JMG) and the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM). One notable software introduced is the 3-dimensional groundwater modelling code, commonly used by hydrogeologists globally for sustainable groundwater management. He is an expert modeller who utilises his skill in using the code to help predict the impact of pollution on groundwater systems.