Craftsman workshop with tools and wood

Our Company

Built to last,
taught with care.

Tindell Ashkar is a financial education practice in Kuala Lumpur. We study financial matters the way a craftsman studies joinery — with patience, precision, and respect for what endures.

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Our Story

Where financial education began for us

Tindell Ashkar was established in Kuala Lumpur by two practitioners who had spent years observing the same pattern: people who were capable and diligent in their working lives often lacked a structured way to think about their personal finances. Not for want of information — there was always more information — but for want of a framework. Something to cut and fit the pieces into.

The workshop metaphor came naturally. A craftsman does not begin with a finished piece; they begin by selecting the right materials, understanding the grain, and cutting each component to specification before fitting them together. Financial understanding works the same way. Concepts need to be measured, shaped, and fitted to the specific life of the person studying them.

Since opening our doors at Wisma E&C in Damansara Heights, we have worked with participants from across the Klang Valley — early-career professionals building their first budgets, mid-career earners examining investment concepts for the first time, and those approaching retirement who want to understand their options clearly before committing to a path.

Our approach has not changed. We move at a pace that allows understanding, not completion. We use Malaysian context throughout. And we treat every participant as a capable adult who deserves clear, honest education rather than pressure or sensationalism.

Our Mission

To provide financial education in Malaysia that is structured, accessible, and designed to hold together across changing circumstances — the way a well-made piece of furniture holds its joints through years of use.

Our Values

  • Patience over speed — understanding before completion
  • Clarity over complexity — plain language for real people
  • Education over advice — equipping, not directing
  • Local relevance — Malaysian instruments and context

The People

Who runs the workshop

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Nurul Ashkar

Lead Facilitator

Nurul developed the Dovetails and Cabinet programmes and leads most participant sessions. She has a background in adult education and personal finance, with a particular interest in how financial concepts land with people who have had no prior exposure to them.

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Rajan Tindell

Programme Director

Rajan designed the Mortise & Tenon programme and oversees curriculum development across all three studies. His work focuses on translating investment and market concepts into educational frameworks that sit well with a Malaysian audience.

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Siti Lim

Participant Support

Siti manages participant onboarding, materials distribution, and the scheduling of optional discussion sessions. She is usually the first point of contact for enquiries and handles most questions about programme content, timing, and fees.

Standards

How we maintain the quality of the work

Curriculum Review

All programme content is reviewed annually and updated when Malaysian regulatory or market conditions change. We do not allow outdated material to remain in circulation.

Facilitator Standards

Facilitators hold relevant credentials in finance or adult education and participate in regular peer review of session delivery. We expect precision in how concepts are presented.

Participant Data Privacy

Personal data collected during enrolment is used solely for programme administration. It is not shared with third parties or used for marketing without explicit consent.

Education, Not Advice

Every programme is clearly framed as educational. No facilitator makes personal financial recommendations. This boundary is maintained consistently across all sessions and materials.

Participant Feedback

We collect structured feedback after each programme cohort and use it directly in curriculum improvements. Participant experience shapes how material is sequenced and explained.

Shariah-Inclusive Content

Investment programmes include coverage of Shariah-compliant financial instruments as a standard component — not an afterthought — reflecting the Malaysian financial environment accurately.

Financial education in Kuala Lumpur — what we do and why it matters

Malaysia has a well-developed financial system with instruments, schemes, and institutions that many residents have heard of but few have studied in depth. EPF contributions accumulate over decades. Unit trusts are widely marketed but rarely explained at the level of their underlying structure. Budgeting as a discipline is often treated as an informal habit rather than a learned skill.

Tindell Ashkar addresses this gap through structured, sequential education. The three programmes — Dovetails, Mortise & Tenon, and The Cabinet — move from the immediate (household budgeting) through the analytical (investment concepts) to the long-term (retirement and legacy planning). Each builds on the previous in the same way that joinery knowledge develops: basic cuts first, structural joints second, complete cabinet construction third.

Participants leave each programme with a working vocabulary, a set of frameworks for thinking, and reference materials they can return to. What they do with that knowledge is their own decision, made with greater clarity than before.

Ready to take a closer look?

Browse the programmes or get in touch with any questions. We are happy to help you work out which study fits where you are right now.