Dr Jim Chai is a registered pharmacist with the Pharmacy Board Malaysia, the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand, and the General Pharmaceutical Council (Great Britain). He previously practised as a hospital clinical pharmacist before transitioning into academia.   He graduated from the University of Otago in 2002 and later completed his Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. His doctoral research employed a qualitative, patient-centred methodology to examine patients’ lived experiences of insulin therapy in the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. This work laid the foundation for his sustained research interest in diabetes care, medicines use, and patient experience. He continues to expand his diabetes research portfolio, progressing from studies on insulin use to pharmacist-led prediabetes screening and early intervention models in community pharmacy practice.   At Universiti Malaya, his academic focus has broadened to include health professions education and higher education pedagogy, with particular emphasis on simulation-based learning, immersive technologies in pharmacy education, experiential learning design, and clinical readiness training. His work integrates educational innovation with service development to strengthen competency and practice preparedness among pharmacy graduates.   In addition, he serves as the Antimicrobial Stewardship Project Coordinator under the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, where he leads the strategic development and implementation of stewardship training initiatives to enhance antimicrobial governance in Malaysian hospitals, particularly within the private healthcare sector.

Khoo Ying Hooi, PhD, is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Human Rights at Universiti Malaya (UM). Her research centres on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on civil society, Southeast Asian politics, and the domestic politics of Malaysia and Timor-Leste. She also examines how the geopolitics of Southeast Asia shapes domestic political developments, rights discourses, civic spaces, and institutional contestations. In addition, she works extensively on human rights education and academic freedom. She is the author of “The Bersih Movement and Democratisation in Malaysia” (SIRD/ ISEAS/ Lexington Books, 2020) and “Seeds of Dissent (Gerakbudaya, 2015). Furthermore, Ying Hooi has also co-edited several volumes, such as “Social and Political Deglobalisation: Covid-19, Conflict and Uncertainties in Malaysia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), “Marginalisation and Human Rights in Southeast Asia” (Routledge, 2022) and “Rethinking Human Rights and Peace in the Post-Independence Timor-Leste through Local Perspectives” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). Her co-author paper (with C. Leong, I. Faik, F. Tan and B. Tan, 2020), “Digital organising of a global social movement: from connective to collective action," won the 2021 Best Paper Award at the Information and Organization and was Runner-Up in the 2021 Special Interest Group-Grounded Theory Methodology (SIG-GTM).  Ying Hooi is the Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of International Relations (MJIR) and sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, the Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights (JSEAHR), and the Indonesian Law Review (ILREV).  Ying Hooi has been appointed to the International Advisory Council by the Timor-Leste government for Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), a public institute tasked to institutionalise memory and promote human rights. She is also a founding member of the Southeast Asian Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEA-CAF). She received several fellowships, including the Mellon/ SAR Academic Freedom Fellowship by Scholars at Risk (SAR), the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) Curriculum Fellowship, and visiting fellowships at Kyushu University, Mahidol University, Humboldt University of Berlin and Beijing Foreign Studies University. She has served as a judge in several local and international human rights awards, including the Amnesty International Philippines Ignite Awards and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Human Rights Awards. Between 2013 and 2016, Ying Hooi was involved in the diplomatic training course for the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Timor-Leste. Additionally, she has contributed to consultancies for organisations like the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Democracy Academy of Malaysia, and Strengthening Human Rights and Peace Research and Education in Southeast Asia (SHAPE-SEA). In addition to her academic roles, Ying Hooi has extensive experience in the field of human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia. These roles include serving as a Scientific Member in the Observatory of Political Alternatives in Southeast Asia (ALTERSEA), Vice-Chair in the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM), and Board Member in the Innovation of Change - East Asia Governance Circle (EAGC). Before entering academia, Ying Hooi garnered experience in corporate sectors and served as the Head of International Issues and Cooperation at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). Her involvements include the ASEAN human rights body (now AICHR) in the ASEAN Charter, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Malaysia in Geneva and the SUHAKAM Amendment Bill 2009.  

I am a Professor and Deputy Dean of Research & Innovation at the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya. I am a registered Professional Engineer (PEng) with the Board of Engineers Malaysia and an ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer (ACPE). I previously served as the President of the Malaysian Thermoelectric Society and held administrative positions including Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (2016-2019). I also serve as a program examiner for the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC), Malaysia, contributing to the quality assurance of engineering education in the country. My research focuses on energy materials, electronics packaging (solder alloys) and MEMS. I have published over 200 ISI-indexed journal articles, 2 books, and 10 book chapters. My work has garnered over 5,200 citations with an h-index of 37. I hold 7 patents related to my research areas. I have been invited to deliver 8 keynote talks at international conferences and 15 invited talks at local and international conferences. I have secured research grants totaling RM13.7 million and led projects worth RM1.7 million. I have served as an examiner for 31 PhD theses (17 international) and 26 Master's theses (1 international). My expertise is also recognized through my appointment as a reviewer for more than 35 journals and my role as an evaluator for national and international research funding applications. I have supervised more than 35 postgraduate students (specifically 21 PhD, 18 Master's completed, and 9 ongoing).