Pei Soo ANG (PhD, Macq.) is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Languages & Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She was the Deputy Dean of Higher Degree (2022-2024) and Visiting Faculty at Universitas Negeri Yogjakarta (2022-2024). Her areas of research interest include disability and health discourses, critical disability studies, critical discourse studies, social semiotics and visual communication. Her current research work centers on characterizing disability and health discourses as represented in the Malaysian media, employing a critical semiotic theoretical approach and a multi-perspectival methodology.

Muhammad Safwan Harun is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Fiqh and Usul, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Born and raised in Selama, Perak, his academic journey began at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Jalan Menteri, followed by secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Kerian, Semanggol, before furthering his studies at Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gopeng, Perak. His passion for Islamic jurisprudence led him to Universiti Malaya, Nilam Puri, where he completed a two-year foundation program before progressing to a Bachelor's degree in Fiqh and Usul at the Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya. He graduated with distinction in 2016 and later pursued his Doctorate at the same institution, earning his PhD in November 2019. Coming from a humble yet academically driven background, Muhammad Safwan is the third son of Harun bin Mohd Nor and Zainab bt Mohd Nasir. He is also a devoted husband to Nazratun Naimah binti Jahuri and a proud father to Nur Sumayyah, Mohd Shakir, and Muhammad Shatir. As a scholar, his expertise lies in Maqasid al-Shari‘ah—both in its theoretical and applied dimensions—as well as Usul al-Fiqh. Over the years, he has been an active contributor to academic discourse through numerous journal articles, book chapters, and newspaper columns, while also presenting at both national and international conferences. As of March 2025, he has published approximately 103 scholarly works. His research interests span various facets of contemporary fiqh, including worship, ethics, zakat, and mu‘amalat. Beyond research and publication, Muhammad Safwan has played a key role in securing and managing 16 research grants from various funding bodies, including the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (JAWI), and the Faculty Research Grant (GPF), among others. His expertise is widely sought after, and he has been actively involved as a consultant in several major projects, including the development of the Shariah Glossary (I-Sign) for the Hearing-Impaired under the Institut Latihan Islam, Bangi, as well as the construction of the Modul Minda Maqasid, initiated by the Maqasid Shariah Division, JAKIM. An advocate for knowledge dissemination, Muhammad Safwan frequently delivers lectures and training sessions on Maqasid al-Shari‘ah, engaging with civil servants, academics, and students at public universities. His dedication to scholarly excellence is further reflected in his international engagements, where he serves as an editorial board member for prestigious publications such as the Journal of Religious, Social, and Cultural Studies and the Khazanah Journal of Islamic Education. Through these roles, he continues to contribute to the advancement of Islamic scholarship at both national and global levels.  

Wong obtained her bachelor’s degree in Japanese Language and Japanese Culture from University of Tsukuba, Japan and master’s and PhD. degree in multicultural studies from the Graduate School of Languages and Cultures, Nagoya University, Japan respectively. She joined University of Malaya since 2007 and her research interests revolve around intercultural communication studies with special interest in Japanese language and culture teaching & learning, silent communication among Japanese, Malaysian and British people , Malaysians’ culture and identity, student mobility, wellbeing of academic staff and para badminton players She becomes the Head of Department of Asian and European Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, UM since June 2021.