Farid Wajdi Akashah is an Associate Professor at the Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, and a Senior Consultant at UPUM Sdn Bhd, specializing in fire safety, and building condition evaluations. In 2024, he was appointed as a Visiting Professor at the School of Architecture, Universidad de Navarra, Spain. He holds a Bachelor of Building Surveying from Universiti Malaya and a Ph.D. in Fire Safety Engineering from Ulster University. With over RM662,200 in research grants, his work has influenced fire safety policies, building codes, and risk mitigation strategies. He serves as one of Malaysia’s Representatives to ISO/TC 92/SC 4 Fire Safety Engineering and is a committee member for the National Standards Committee on Fire Safety and the Technical Committee on Passive Fire Safety Design under the Department of Standards Malaysia, contributing to both national and international fire safety standards. A lifetime member of IAFSS and MyRBS, he also serves on the UN-backed International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition, supporting the Decade of Action for Fire Safety. A Registered Building Surveyor, MyCREST Qualified Professional, and certified Thermographer and NDT-UT Level I, he has led fire risk management, regulatory compliance audits, and building condition evaluations for projects exceeding RM6.88 million. Recognized with the Malaysian Young Building Surveyor Award (2016) and multiple Excellent Service Awards, he continues to advance fire safety, risk management, and regulatory improvements globally.

Dr. Tang Tuck Cheong joined the Department of Economics and Applied Statistics at the Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, on February 17, 2014. Previously, he served at Monash University Malaysia, starting as a tutor in the School of Business in July 2001 and ultimately holding the position of senior lecturer until February 14, 2014. Over the years, Dr. Tang has taught a range of undergraduate courses in economics. In 2012, he completed his PhD in Economics at Monash University, Australia, under the supervision of Dietrich Karl Fausten, and was awarded the prestigious Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal. His research expertise lies in open economy macroeconomics, including international trade topics such as import demand functions and balance of payments sustainability. He has published extensively in refereed journals and presented his research at numerous international conferences. Dr. Tang actively contributes to the academic community through his roles on the editorial advisory boards of the Labuan Bulletin of International Business and Finance and the International Journal of Management Studies, as well as serving as an associate editor for the Journal of Economic Development. Additionally, he is regularly invited to review articles for internationally recognized journals. Outside academia, Dr. Tang is a dedicated martial artist, practicing Wing Chun. He is also a former collector of collectible toys, including Transformers, action figures, and designer toys.

Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin is an Associate Professor, consultant psychiatrist and smoking cessation specialist from University Malaya. He is the coordinator of the Nicotine Addiction Research Group of UMCAS and is the primary investigator for the Grand Challenge Grant (GC004-15HTM) investigating gaps in upscaling existing smoking cessation services in Malaysia. The training that his team developed, is one of three pathways to be a certified smoking cessation provider. He is a technical and expert advisor to the Ministry of Health for policy documents including the Tobacco Control National Strategic Plan 2015-2020 document and mQuit Services project which is involved in strengthening the "O" of MPOWER. As part of his interest, he is involved with both local and international organization in tobacco control and cessation and is active in communicating his ideas on tobacco control in social, mass and scientific media in Malaysia and abroad. He tweets at @MyNarcc and can be found at http://www.narcc.um.edu.my