DR. NOOR AQSA NABILA BINTI MAT ISA

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)

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DR. HANEE FARZANA BINTI HIZADDIN

Dr. Hanee Farzana is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Malaya since 2016. Dr. Hanee first join UM in 2012 as an Academic Fellow. Prior to that, she worked as a Safety and Risk Engineer with ExxonMobil Malaysia from 2009 to 2011. She resigned to pursue her studies and a career in academia. Her primary research interests are design and development of novel solvents (e.g., ionic liquid and deep eutectic solvents) for various applications in chemical processes, particularly in the separation of fluid mixtures (liquid-liquid and gas-liquid mixtures), with a special interest on separation and recovery of precious metals, critical minerals and rare earh elements, and in CO2 capture and utilization. Dr. Hanee is also passionate about engineering education and Outcome-Based Education (OBE) implementation. She was the Programme Coordinator for the Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree program from 2019 to 2021 and was in charge of coordinating accreditation matters related to the program. She is currently the Head of Department for Chemical Engineering until 2027.

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DR. MARLENNY BT DEENERWAN

Marlenny Deenerwan, holds a doctorate degree in Theatre Performance from Monash University, Australia (2016), Master of Arts (2011) and a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Drama (2007) from the Universiti Malaya, and received a Diploma of Creative Writing of the National Arts Academy currently known as ASWARA (2002). Prior to entering academia, she served as a teacher at SM Shan Tao Kota Kinabalu Sabah (1995-1997) and also was a sub-editor at Daily Express Sabah (1997-1998). As an academic, her research spans the field of Malaysian traditional and rituals theatre; Bobolian rituals in Sabah, the traditional theater of Wayang Kulit, Makyong, and Bangsawan, research on the Minang community in Kuala Lumpur and the Kaul event of the Melanau community in Mukah. Her recent research focusing on developing interactive theater as an alternative to teaching and learning for young children in rural areas by conducting a field work at SK Pekan Ranau, Sabah. An active creative writer since 1999, Marlenny has published over 20 scripts of modern stage dramas and adaptations (Nur, Dari M ke M, Rumah Lama Kampung Baru, Melati & Melur, YB Jee, Lina & Lijah, No Smoking Please etc), dozens television dramas since 2003 (Haryati II, Dilema Wanita, Kasihnya Di Bawah Bayu, Igauan Semalam etc), besides also contributing to documentary writing, tv promos, newspaper articles/ criticism, short stories, poems, and song lyrics. She has also been prolific in producing Bangsawan scripts since 2007 to date.She involves actively as an actor, director, and stage drama producer since 1998. Her play directing works including Rumah Lama Kampung Baru, Melati & Melur, No Smoking Please, Rachel Corrie, The Glass Menageries, The Zoo Story, Bangsawan Anak Raja Anak Papa (The Prince and The Pauper), Zhao Si Anak Yatim, Asiah Samiah and Bangsawan Hikayat Si Miskin Menjadi Raja. She is the co-founder of the theatre group Mekar Budaya since 2002 as well as the Bangsawan Opera Sri Bandaraya group under the organization of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall since 2008. She won the Best Actress award at the Malaysian Theater Festival 2003, Best Director of the Kuala Lumpur Theater Festival 2009, and was the recipient of the Young Theater Artist Award from the Selangor State Government in 2010. She was appointed as the Head of Jury of the Malaysian Theater Festival 2016 by the National Department for Culture and Arts, and served as the Head of Jury for Universiti Malaya's Theatre Carnival (Kaviter UM) since 2017-2020.Marlenny has published a book entitled "Bobolian Seni Teater Etnik Dusun", and is currently in the process of producing a book entitled "Tertib dan Masyhur: Estetika Bangsawan Malaysia". Throughout her activities with NGOs, Marlenny was the former President of the ASWARA Alumni Association 2015-2018, and is currently the Chairperson of the Persatuan Rumpun Seni Mekar Budaya Kuala Lumpur (since 2020), besides maintaining her membership with Ikatan Penulis Sabah since 1992.

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