Dr. Muhamad Alihanafiah bin Norasid is a senior lecturer at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya. He was born on 22 May 1987 at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital and is the eldest of twelve siblings. Originally from Johor, he has resided in Dusun Tua, Hulu Langat, Selangor, for over 30 years. He is married and blessed with five children—two boys and three girls. Educational Background Dr. Alihanafiah began his early education at Sekolah Agama Menengah Rawang, Selangor in 2000, before continuing his secondary studies at Sekolah Menengah Agama Kerajaan Johor in Kluang from 2001 to 2004. In 2005, he pursued religious studies at Ma’ahad Johor in Johor Bahru and successfully obtained the Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM). He continued his academic journey at the University of Malaya, earning a Bachelor of Usuluddin (Al-Quran and Al-Hadith) from 2006 to 2009. He then pursued a PhD in the field of Thematic Quranic Interpretation and Human Capital Development at the same university from 2010 to 2016. He also attended a one-month Arabic language enhancement course at Cairo University, Egypt in 2008, and a three-month research methodology course at The World Islamic Sciences and Education University in Amman, Jordan in 2012. Academic Career Dr. Alihanafiah has been serving as a lecturer at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya since 2017, and currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer. With over eight years of academic experience, he has demonstrated strong commitment to teaching and research, particularly in the field of Quran and Hadith studies. Leadership and Involvement Since his student days, Dr. Alihanafiah has actively engaged in various leadership and co-curricular activities. He served as Chairman of the Student Committee, Department of Quran and Hadith (2005–2006), and was a committee member of the Islamic Student Association of the University of Malaya (2004–2005). He also held the position of Advisory Committee Member of the Training and Cadre Unit at YADIM (2020–2021), and served as Chairman of the Youth Bureau (Lajnah Syubban) of the Malaysian Muslim Scholar Association (PUM) from 2017 to 2024. As of 2025, he holds the position of Chairman of the Madrasah Ulama’ Secretariat, also under PUM. Academic Publications and Scholarly Network Dr. Alihanafiah is an active academic in the field of scholarly publishing. He has authored more than 60 academic articles, which have been published in various academic journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. Additionally, he has presented over 15 research papers at international conferences and seminars. His involvement in research includes delivering presentations as a guest speaker in countries such as Japan, Iran, and Indonesia. He has also participated in research competency courses in Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, Brunei, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Iran, and other countries. He is recognized as a subject matter expert in the areas of Quranic thought, thematic (Mawdu‘i) interpretation, human capital development, and environmental sustainability from the perspective of the Quran. Academic and Co-Curricular Achievements Dr. Alihanafiah has received various awards and recognitions throughout his academic journey. These include the Cikgu Haji Osman Hassan Book Prize for Best Student at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya (2009), the Active Student Award of Residential College 8 (2007), and the Academic Excellence Award of the same college (2007). He also received the University Book Prize for achieving a perfect CGPA (4.00) in three out of six semesters. In the field of debating, he represented the University of Malaya in the Royal Intervarsity Debate Championship (Arabic category) and emerged as First Runner-up in 2007. He also reached the quarterfinals of the ASEAN Debate Championship (Arabic category) in the same year. Additionally, he was the First Runner-up in the Quran Memorization Competition and Islamic Calligraphy Competition (khat) at the university level in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

  DR. ABU HANIFAH HARIS is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He received his B.Ed. (History) from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Perak in 2010, and PhD (fast track) from the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2013 with a thesis entitled, "Pengaruh Mesir Terhadap Masyarakat Melayu, 1906-1970” (“The Egyptian Influence on the Malay Society, 1906-1970”). His areas of expertise are the history of the Middle East, and the history of Islam in Malaysia. Among his books is Pengaruh Mesir Terhadap Masyarakat Melayu, 1906-1970: Daripada al-Imam Sehingga Kebangkitan Semula Islam (The Egyptian Influence on the Malay Society: From al-Imam until the Islamic Resurgence, 1906-1970) (Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press, 2019). His articles also have been published in several international and local journals such as British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Japanese Journal of Political Sciences, Geopolitics Quaterly, al-Shajarah, Kemanusiaan, Kajian Malaysia, and Journal of al-Tamaddun.      

Dr Gopinath Venkatraman is a Biotechnologist and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and is associated with Universiti Malaya Centre for Proteomics Research (UMCPR). He is also an adjunct professor of Biochemistry at Saveetha Institute of Science and Technology, India and Molecular Medicine at Sathyabama Institute of Science & Technology, India. His research focuses on biomedical (tissue engineering, antimicrobial, anticancer drug delivery applications) and environmental applications of metal, polymeric nanomaterials, and natural compounds.