Dr. Firdaus Hariri is a Professor and senior consultant in oral maxillofacial surgery at University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry Universiti Malaya and University of Malaya Specialist Centre. He obtained both his dental and medical degrees from Universiti Malaya (UM) and completed his oral and maxillofacial surgery training with distinction at Queen Mary Hospital and Prince Philip Dental Hospital, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). He later had his craniofacial attachments at various established craniofacial centres abroad and also obtained his Master of Science in Molecular Medicine from International Medical University (IMU). In addition to routine maxillofacial surgical practices such as orthognathic surgery, trauma and oral implantology, his subspecialty and research interests are focused on pediatric craniofacial and reconstructive surgery, tissue engineering in particular distraction osteogenesis technique, bone regeneration for oral rehabilitation and the field of neurotrauma. He has more than 60 academic publications and is actively involved in national and international scientific conferences, consultations and organizations. He is one of the founding members and currently the lead coordinator for the multidisciplinary craniofacial clinic in UMMC, the team leader for Oro-Craniomaxillofacial Research and Surgical (OCReS) group at the Faculty of Dentistry UM, subspecialty coordinator for the Fellowship in Advanced Craniomaxillofacial Surgery UM, and serves as the chairman of National Dental Specialty Education Committee (DentSEdC) for oral and maxillofacial surgery. He is also the guest editor for BMC Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as well as in the editorial board of Malaysian Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He is passionate in music, social enterprise and humanitarian activities. Among the significant contributions in these areas are the success of Voices of Hope Charity Concert, collaboration with University of Malaya Industry and Community Engagement (ICE) office for the social enterprise initiative among single parents in marginalized community and successfully initiating the nation-wide aerosol box fabrication and distribution during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Faisal Ahmad Shah, is a Professor at the Department of Qur’an and Hadith Academy of Islamic Studies University of Malaya. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from the Faculty of Hadith at the Islamic University of Medina, Saudi Arabia in 1996, and later pursued his Master's Degree in Islamic Studies (Al-Quran and Sunnah Studies) at the National University of Malaysia (UKM). Subsequently, he undertook his Ph.D. studies at the University of Malaya (UM) and successfully completing his doctoral program in 2007. His Ph.D. thesis titled "The Hadith Methodology of Shaikh al-Marbawi in the book of Bahr al-Madhi" delves into the works of Shaikh al-Marbawi, a renowned hadith scholar in the Malay Archipelago (Nusantara), within his book Bahr al-Madhi, published in twenty-two volumes. Dr. Faisal is actively engaged in extensive research within the field of hadith. He has played a key role in major research projects, including the translation of al-Kutub al-Sittah, funded  from various university grants such as University Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Ngo's like Athar Foundation. Moreover, he has contributed to the research project titled "Smart Phone Applications – Check Before Spread" at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, which received a substantial research allocation of RM458,963. Notably, Dr. Faisal's research endeavors transcend Malaysia, as he had the opportunity to join the Courant Research Center "Education and Religion" at George August University Gottingen, Germany, as a Visiting Scholar for four months in 2014. Additionally, in June 2022, he served as a visiting scholar at Istanbul University, Turkey, where he had valuable interactions and discussions with Turkish scholars specializing in hadith, including Prof. Dr. Bekir Kuzudisli from Istanbul University and Professor Dr. Serdar Demirel from Ibn Haldun University. Dr. Faisal is distinguished as the only Malaysian hadith scholar who is a member of the International Association of Hadith Scholars based in Baghdad, Iraq. Due to his extensive experience and knowledge, he holds editorial positions in several international journals, such as Jurnal Riwayah, Journal of Quran and Hadith Studies from Indonesia, and Journal of Al-Ulum al-Islamiyyah from Al-Iraqiyya University. Furthermore, he is actively involved in the academic community, serving as an academic advisor for various hadith studies programs, including those at al-Madinah International  University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kolej Universiti Islam Perlis, Universiti Islam Selangor, and Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah. He also had served as an associate research fellow at the Institute of Hadith Studies (Inhad) and as a Committee Member of Lajnah Irsyad MAIWP and Lajnah Ma'alim al-Sunan li Dirasati al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyah (MAIWP) During his tenure at Universiti Malaya, Dr. Faisal has demonstrated his commitment to mentoring and academic supervision. He has successfully supervised a total of 77 students at the Ph.D. and Masters levels, with 18 students completing their Ph.D. degrees and 29 students achieving their master's degrees. Aside from his research contributions, Dr. Faisal has a keen interest in writing, having published numerous articles and books. It is noteworthy that he had published 19 articles indexed by Scopus and 39 academic books, with 19 of them published by MAPIM (Majlis Ilmiah Publishing Malaysia). Some of his notable book titles include "Understanding 'Ulum al-Hadith Through Infographic Sanad," "Harmonizing the Difference in Hadith," "Weak and False Hadith and Its Application in Malaysia," and "Accurate Methods In Understanding Hadith."  

Hanafi Hussin is an Honorary Professor at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya.  He has received his Master's Degree and PhD in Cultural and Performing Arts Studies.  His current focus is on Southeast Asian anthropology, particularly ritual and performing arts. He actively researches and publishes on rituals and identity of the Kadazandusun community of Sabah, particularly in Penampang and Tuaran Sabah and Bajau and Bajau Laut/Sama Dilaut of the east coast of Borneo and Southern Philippines. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Creative Arts (2022-2024) and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (2016-2018). Before his retirement, he also served as Head of the Maritime Social Sciences and Humanities Unit, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES) and Head of Universiti Malaya Migration Research Centre (UMMRC), Universiti Malaya. He was appointed and served as a Visiting Professor at various universities, Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan, China (2024), Thammasat University (2021), Universitas Indonesia (2020-2021) and Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2020). He can be reached at hanafih@um.edu.my.