I hold a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen, UK. My doctoral thesis investigates the interplay between political modernisation and ecological modernisation in a developing country. It engages with modernisation theories while highlighting country-specific dynamics and offers theoretical and empirical insights into how the lack of political institutionalisation affects environmental decision-making, particularly in Malaysia. I am an Associate Fellow of the UK’s Advance HE. I worked as a teaching assistant in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Aberdeen for two academic years, during which my teaching experience spanned interdisciplinary modules in Politics, International Relations, and Sociology. Prior to entering academia, I served as Editor-in-Chief of an independent news website in Malaysia. I have authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited four books on civil society, social movements, and environmental movements in Malaysia and Singapore. My current research areas include political modernisation, development, and institutionalisation, as well as environmental governance and misgovernance.

Associate Professor Dr. Norasmatul Akma Ahmad is a Prosthodontist at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya. She graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Universiti Malaya in 2002 and served the Ministry of Health as a dental officer for four years before pursuing specialist training in London. In 2009, she obtained her Master of Clinical Dentistry in Prosthodontics with Distinction from King’s College London and was awarded the Membership in Restorative Dentistry (Prosthodontics) from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She completed her PhD in 2025 at Universiti Malaya, earning a Thesis with Distinction. Her research interests span tooth wear, prosthodontics and dental education. She served as Head of the Restorative Dentistry Department (2017–2021) and was a member of the Universiti Malaya Dental Education Enhancement and Development Unit (UMDEED). In addition to her academic leadership, she practices as a Prosthodontist and Restorative Consultant at the Universiti Malaya Specialist Centre (UMSC). Dr. Norasmatul also contributes nationally as an elected member of the Dental Specialty Sub-Committee (DSCC) under the Malaysian Dental Council and the Dental Specialty Education Committee (DentSEdC) under the Ministry of Health. She currently serves as Deputy Dean (Undergraduate Studies).     

Dr. Khadijah Mohd Khambali @ Hambali, who graduated from the Universiti Malaya (Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. degree) is currently the Professor at the Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, working in the Department of Aqidah and Islamic Thought. She has been appointed as Director of the Universiti Malaya Centre of Civilisational Dialogue (UMCCD) from September 2024-August 2026. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Institut of Islamic Understanding, Malaysia for Shariah, Law and Politics Studies (SYARAK) with effect from June 3, 2025 to May 31, 2026.  She served as the post of Co-ordinator of the University Co-Curriculum and Elective Section (SKET) and currently known as CITRA, Universiti Malaya (2004-2006), Deputy Director of Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, Universiti Malaya (2006-2007). She was also a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU), Georgetown University, Washington DC from 2001-2002, Research Fellow in Religious Studies Programme, School of Arts History, Classics and Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (March 2008-September 2008) and the Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds in 2013 for a one year.  Professor Dr. Khadijah's broad academic and research interests involve Comparative Religion, Religious Studies, Interfaith Dialogue, Mualaf Community, and Islamic Thoughts. She produced over 318 publications including books, chapters in books, articles in refereed journals including WoS and Scopus indexed, conference proceedings that were presented nationally and internationally, and magazines.    Professor Dr. Khadijah currently produced more than 51 master students and 31 doctorate students in her fields. In the professional field, she involves in various committees; as a member of the committee on religious issues at the National Security Council of Malaysia (2010-2013), and the member of the Research Committee of the Wasatiyyah Institute Malaysia (2017-2018); and currently, she is a member of the Islamic Religious Council, State of Selangor (MAIS) from 2018 and present; a member of the Selangor State Fatwa Committee from 2018 and present; member of the Selangor State Religious Control committee from 2018-2023 and chief in editor of AL-UMMAH Journal as well as an editorial board of Islamic Journal, Turkey and AFKAR Journal (SCOPUS-Q2). She is also a committee member of the Islamic Media at Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) from 2020 and present, member of Islamic Studies Programme Standard Expert for MQA, academic advisor for local universities, and experts panel for long life learning modules for JAKIM and JAIS; and postgraduate external examiners. Professor Dr. Khadijah also provided affidavits of the Allah sentencing issues for the Attorney General Chambers and the National Security Council as well as for JAKIM. She also contributes to society through her involvement with a number of a non-government organization (NGO) including ALUMNI Academy of Islamic Studies (ALIM).