Dr. Aqsa Isa is a Senior Lecturer based in the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia and Research Associate at Rabdan Academy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).Her teaching and scholarly interests are focused on the areas of Critical Discourse Studies, Social Semiotics and Multimodality. She is interested in multidisciplinary work and research involving (violent) extremism and (de) radicalisation, especially on social media, as well as religion and politics, among others. As a linguist, she has looked at various violent extremist and far right propaganda materials, exploring and understanding the ideologies and linguistic strategies used to garner support and attract potential followers. She is also exploring the recruitment, radicalisation as well as the reintegration processes, in which she has worked closely with former detainees, their family members and various local and international agencies. In addition, Dr. Aqsa has been invited as a speaker and resource person in various Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) programmes by agencies such as the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs (Security Division), Malaysian public universities, civil society organisations, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the SEA Women Peacebuilders Network.  Currently, she is also the Programme Coordinator for the Bachelor of English Language and Linguistics. Her tasks include overseeing accreditation processes and curriculum reviews, coordinating class schedules, and ensuring the wellbeing of students in the programme. She also engages with local and international institutions to build academic collaborations. As part of her role, she provides academic guidance and supports continuous programme improvement to align with current educational and industry needs. Recent publication:‘Dust Off the Dirt of Laziness and Break the Shackles of the Dunya’: The Language of Female Extremists in Daesh Propaganda Magazines, Journal of Gender and Language. Forthcoming publications: 1. Media Framing of Violent Extremism Cases in Malaysia: A Discursive News Values Analysis (Journal Article) 2. Psychological Impacts of News Reporting on Individuals Arrested for Violent Extremism in Malaysia and Their Families (Journal Article) 3. "As Long As Nobody’s Hurt”: A Digital Discourse on Justifying Quran Burning from an Argumentation Perspective (Journal Article) 4. From Delegitimisation to Conditional Legitimacy: Media Slant and Multimodal Framings of Quran-Burning Protests (Journal Article) 5. Stance-taking in Online Far-Right Discourse Communities: Anti-immigration and Identity Politics (Journal Article)

Norlidah Alias is a Professor in the Curriculum and Instructional Technology Department, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya. Her area of expertise is Curriculum Development and TVET ( Curriculum). She was a former Deputy Dean (Higher Degrees) at the Faculty (28/3/2019-27/3/2021). Prior joining University of Malaya, she has served as an Assistant Director at Teacher Training Institution, Ministry of Education. She received her Bachelor Degree (Electrical Engineering) from Monash University, Australia, and her Master and PhD degrees from University of Malaya. Her Scopus h-indexed is 14 with 721 citations.  She has headed several consultations and research projects, particularly in the area of TVET curriculum acceptance and pedagogy, funded by various international and local agencies. Currently she is the Principal Investigator for several industry research grants at national level  and she is a PI for an  International Research grant.  She has authored and co-authored 12 books, 12 academic articles in ISI-ranked publications and many other Scopus-ranked publications. Her works are published in top-tier International journals including Journal of Educational Tehnology and Society (ETS), Eurasian Journal Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (EJMSTE), Educational Technology Research & Development (ETR&D), Frontiers in Public Health and Interactive Learning Environments. She has also served as an Advisory Committee Member TOJET and TOJSAT, Editorial Board Member for ETS and TOJET, Founding Editor of Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology (MOJET) (2013-2016) and Founding Editor for Journal Kurikulum dan Pengajaran Asia Pasifik (JuKu) (2013-2016). She is the Vice President of the Persatuan Kurikulum Malaysia (PerKum). She has received recognition for her teaching and research including awards such as University of Malaya's Excellent Service Award 2014 & 2020, University of Malaya Excellent Service Certificate 2013, 2019 and was Finalist for Malaysian Minister of Education Special Award (Transformative Teaching Category, 2019). She has also won the Gold Medal Award 2010 at the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) held in Malaysia. She has presented keynotes in International Conferences and was invited speaker in TV program.  She has supervised 36 PhD students (19 graduated, 17 on-going) and 23 master's students (24 graduated and 3 on-going). She has supervised an international post doctoral researcher and co-supervised PhD students at other international institutions. She has been appointed as a National TVET Technical Committee Member by the MInister of Education. She serves as an International Assessor for the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council. Currently, she has been appointed as Lead Consultant under UPUM Sdn. Bhd, for two government TVET projects under CIAST and Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources.

Dr. Zaharul Abdullah is a Senior Lecturer at the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya. He earned his PhD in the political economy of development from the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Prior to his current appointment, he served as a lecturer at several Malaysian public universities, including Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), and previously held the position of Research Officer at the Akademi Profesor Malaysia (APM). His academic expertise centres on China–Southeast Asia relations, China–US relations, developmental state theory, and the political economy of infrastructure and economic cooperation, with particular emphasis on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Dr. Zaharul has published extensively in Scopus-indexed journals such as International Journal of China Studies, International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, and Kajian Malaysia. He currently leads several competitive research grants and is an active contributor to policy discussions in Malaysian media, including Berita Harian and Malaysiakini.