She is the distinguished recipient of the highly prestigious Anugerah Tokoh Akademik Bahasa Melayu 2024, a remarkable honour bestowed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. She currently holds the Sultan Ibrahim Chair of Malay Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University in China. The first milestone of her commendable journey began when she was conferred the Anugerah Penghargaan Makalah Jurnal Terbaik in the year 2021, a notable recognition by MAPIM-KPT.With a distinguished academic background, she holds a First Class Bachelor's Degree (Malay Language Programme) from the Department of Malay Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya (1989). Subsequent to her undergraduate studies, she embarked on a journey to acquire a Diploma in Education from the Faculty of Education, University of Malaya (1990) and henceforth, served as a dedicated teacher in a full-boarding school (SBP) in Kuala Lumpur. Her illustrious career as a lecturer commenced in 1996 following the completion of her master's degree and was further amplified when she was granted the Hadiah Latihan Cuti Belajar, enabling her to pursue her Ph.D in 1999. During her remarkable Ph.D journey, she was accorded an opportunity to partake in a six-month training at Leiden University, Netherlands, to learn the PRAAT software, a vital tool in her field of study at the Ph.D level, Acoustic Phonetics. Her exemplary skills in the Malay language led her to be appointed as a visiting lecturer at the Yunnan University of Nationalities, Kunming, China, and as a visiting professor at Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia. Her profound expertise in the Malay Language, Malay Studies and the Malay World has been acknowledged by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, leading her to be entrusted with roles such as Head of the Phonetics/Phonology Panel, Panel Penilai Buku Terbaik MAPIM-KPT, Penilai Buku Terbitan MAPIM, Malay Language Editor, Penilai Geran Penyelidikan Fundamental Research Grant Schemes (FRGS), and Penilai Artikel for Scopus-indexed, ESCI and MyCite journals. She was also appointed to the editorial board of two prestigious journals in Indonesia and often referred to as an expert in research instruments. She has been invited as a Keynote Speaker and Invited Speaker in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.From an administrative perspective, she has held notable positions such as Head of the Malay Language Department, Coordinator for the Academic Writing course, and Deputy Dean (Research, Value Creation, and Enterprise). Currently, she holds the esteemed position of Deputy Dean (Postgraduate Studies, Research & Innovation). She has also contributed significantly as a Course Developer for the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), University of Malaya for the course Introduction to Malay Language. In addition, she has taken on the responsibility as the Chairperson for the APM (Akademi Pengajian Melayu/ Academy of Malay Studies) social service for Sekolah Dalam Hospital (SDH), at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

Dr Catherine Thamarai Arumugam is currently attached to the Family Health Discipline, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya as a Medical Lecturer with a specialisation in Public Health Medicine. Her past publications speaks of her interest in the research on early childhood development, infectious diseases and her love for poetries. In an unwavering effort of creating a safe media environment for thriving children - she is interested to further explore on the dynamics of technology, toddlers and family relationships.  A medical degree holder from Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia - her journey as a junior doctor started at the Sungai Buloh Hospital which is also the national referral centre for infectious disease. Upon completion of housemanship training, she went on to serve as a Medical Officer in Charge of a maternal child health clinic in the district of Temerloh, Pahang. The responsibility entrusted granted her invaluable experience especially in the domains of maternal child health and disaster preparedness – stirring the passion towards public health. Dr Catherine went back to Temerloh District Health Office with a Doctorate in Public Health from Universiti Malaya - serving as an Epidemiology Officer, heading the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Unit during the COVID19 rampage. Her major tasks revolved around surveillance, outbreak response, training activities and playing the role of liaison officer for the state-level CDC department. From Ministry of Health to Ministry of Higher Education – Dr Catherine has now started her new venture as a medical lecturer, striving to be an advocate for public health issues she is passionate about through her research works and creative writings!

Dr. Sabzali Musa Kahn was born in Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia. He graduated with a degree in visual arts from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. He then pursued his Masters in Education from Universiti Putra Malaysia and he obtained his Doctorate (Ph.D) in Architecture Studies from Universiti Putra Malaysia. He started his career as a consultant in government and corporate sectors. He was one of the committee who founded Universiti Industri Selangor, Malaysia (UNISEL). In addition, he was appointed as the secretariat member to develop the master action plan for the Ministry of Unity and Development Community, Malaysia. His participation in various major exhibitions organized by universities, galleries, state and National Art Gallery has greatly enhanced his knowledge and experience as an artist. He is also involved with visual arts research, theatre and workshops in the aspect of creative teaching for the pre-school children, people with disabilities and in curriculum development of visual art studies at the university level. He has won several competitions in art and design. Some of the awards obtained were Main Incentive gift from Art Media exhibition 2006, Special Award Art Media VIII,2009 and Special award Art Media IX,2010. He is the gold medalist for Innovation and Creativity EXPO 2010, University of Malaya, Malaysia. In 2015, he won the national gold medal at Innovation and Invention Competition Through Exhibition (iCompEx) and Cahaya Kasih President’s Award from Maybank, Malaysia. His research on the use of new materials and techniques in visual art production has won him Excellence University of Malaya Award for 2015 under the Arts and Creativity Category. He held position as the head jury for batik art drawing category at the international level which was organized by Rehabilitation Council Malaysia (MCR). He represented Malaysia for visual art category and was the first Malaysian selected to be head jury in the 8th International Abilympic 2011 at Seoul,Korea. His ongoing effort and contribution has brought gold medal to Malaysia in the International Abilympic 2011. This has been a great achievement for the country at the international level to have won a gold medal for the last 32 years. Dr. Sabzali active participation in the social work at local and international level has made great impact to the society. Creativity activities and education based on visual art are incorporated into his social works. He was the Visual Art Coordinator and Deputy Director (undergraduate) at the Cultural Centre, University Malaya. Currently, he is the Dean at Academy of Malay Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.