Yong Yee is a passionate social scientist dedicated to exploring the transformative power of sport and its impact on society. She is particularly interested in understanding the experiences of marginalized and underrepresented groups, such as women, refugees, and people with disabilities. Her research seeks to identify and address the challenges that these groups face in participating in sport, as well as to promote equitable and inclusive practices. Yong Yee's current research projects include capacity building for youth-led refugees' sport events, the future of sport and sustainability, and educating Paralympics Sports volunteers using the design thinking approach. These projects reflect her commitment to using research to inform and improve sport policy and practice.

Khoo Ying Hooi, PhD, is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Human Rights at Universiti Malaya (UM). Her research centres on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on civil society, Southeast Asian politics, and the domestic politics of Malaysia and Timor-Leste. She also examines how the geopolitics of Southeast Asia shapes domestic political developments, rights discourses, civic spaces, and institutional contestations. In addition, she works extensively on human rights education and academic freedom. She is the author of “The Bersih Movement and Democratisation in Malaysia” (SIRD/ ISEAS/ Lexington Books, 2020) and “Seeds of Dissent (Gerakbudaya, 2015). Furthermore, Ying Hooi has also co-edited several volumes, such as “Social and Political Deglobalisation: Covid-19, Conflict and Uncertainties in Malaysia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), “Marginalisation and Human Rights in Southeast Asia” (Routledge, 2022) and “Rethinking Human Rights and Peace in the Post-Independence Timor-Leste through Local Perspectives” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). Her co-author paper (with C. Leong, I. Faik, F. Tan and B. Tan, 2020), “Digital organising of a global social movement: from connective to collective action," won the 2021 Best Paper Award at the Information and Organization and was Runner-Up in the 2021 Special Interest Group-Grounded Theory Methodology (SIG-GTM).  Ying Hooi is the Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of International Relations (MJIR) and sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, the Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights (JSEAHR), and the Indonesian Law Review (ILREV).  Ying Hooi has been appointed to the International Advisory Council by the Timor-Leste government for Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), a public institute tasked to institutionalise memory and promote human rights. She is also a founding member of the Southeast Asian Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEA-CAF). She received several fellowships, including the Mellon/ SAR Academic Freedom Fellowship by Scholars at Risk (SAR), the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) Curriculum Fellowship, and visiting fellowships at Kyushu University, Mahidol University, Humboldt University of Berlin and Beijing Foreign Studies University. She has served as a judge in several local and international human rights awards, including the Amnesty International Philippines Ignite Awards and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Human Rights Awards. Between 2013 and 2016, Ying Hooi was involved in the diplomatic training course for the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Timor-Leste. Additionally, she has contributed to consultancies for organisations like the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Democracy Academy of Malaysia, and Strengthening Human Rights and Peace Research and Education in Southeast Asia (SHAPE-SEA). In addition to her academic roles, Ying Hooi has extensive experience in the field of human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia. These roles include serving as a Scientific Member in the Observatory of Political Alternatives in Southeast Asia (ALTERSEA), Vice-Chair in the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM), and Board Member in the Innovation of Change - East Asia Governance Circle (EAGC). Before entering academia, Ying Hooi garnered experience in corporate sectors and served as the Head of International Issues and Cooperation at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). Her involvements include the ASEAN human rights body (now AICHR) in the ASEAN Charter, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Malaysia in Geneva and the SUHAKAM Amendment Bill 2009.  

Dr. Nor Fahimah Mohd Razif is an Associate Professor at the Department of Fiqh and Usul, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya (UM). Her extensive professional experience includes serving as a Research Assistant at the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA), where she conducted research on hedging mechanisms through option products in Islamic finance. She has also held the position of Executive in the Islamic Capital Market Department at the Securities Commission Malaysia. Currently, Dr. Nor Fahimah serves as a Shariah Committee Member for Affin Islamic Bank Berhad, the National Farmers Fund, and Masryef Advisory. Her scholarly contributions encompass numerous articles and papers in the fields of economics, finance, banking, capital market and wealth management from an Islamic perspective. She has presented her research at both international and local conferences and has published extensively in proceedings, books, and academic journals, particularly on topics related to Islamic banking and finance. Dr. Nor Fahimah specializes in transactional law (Fiqh al-Muamalat), Islamic banking, and Islamic finance, demonstrating her commitment to advancing knowledge and practice in these critical areas.