SEASSR Vol. 5, No. 2 (July-Dec 2020)

Jomo K.S., Phd, an internationally renowned political economist, prolific writer, thinker and public intellectual who has authored over 35 monographs, edited over 50 books and translated 12 volumes besides writing many articles and commentaries. After a distinguished career as professor of development economics at Universiti Malaya, Jomo took up the post of UN Assistant Secretary General (Economic and Social Affairs) (2005-2012), and UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Assistant Director General & Coordinator for Economic and Social Development (until retirement in 2015). He was a member of the Stiglitz Commission of Experts of the President of the United Nations General Assembly on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System, and in 2007, awarded the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Upon returning to Malaysia, he was appointed as holder of Tun Hussein Onn Chair in International Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), appointed into the 5-member Council of Eminent Persons advising the Pakatan Harapan Government, and awarded the prestigious “Tokoh Akademik Negara” (National Academic Laureate) in 2018. Currently, he is Senior Advisor at the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI), Kuala Lumpur. Email: jomoks@yahoo.com.

Kee Y Sabariah Kee Mohd Yussof, Phd, is a Senior Lecturer at the Industrial Relations Programme, Faculty of Humanities, Art and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Her research interests include studies on trade unions, collective negotiations, and management, and is involved in the project on “Reconceptualization of Collective Action among Trade Unionists in Sabah”. E-mail: keesabariah@ums. edu.my.

Khairil Anuar Ramli, MSc, is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His previous sojourn was in the petroleum industry in the Petronas Group for more than two decades, with his last post as a Senior Manager, Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB) (2011-2013). He is now a Research Fellow with the Islamic Economic Studies and Thoughts Centre (IESTC), an independent non-profit research outfit (http://www.iestc.net/). Email: khairil.anuar.ramli@gmail.com.

Martin Khor, Phd (1951-2020), was an economist trained at Cambridge University and Universiti Sains Malaysia. He was Director of the Third World Network and the Research Director of the Consumers’ Association of Penang, and an Economics Lecturer in Universiti Sains Malaysia. He authored several books and articles on economics, sustainable development, globalisation, trade and intellectual property. He was a member of the UN Committee on Development Policy, the UN Secretary General’s Task Force on Environment and Development, and a Vice Chair of the Expert Group on the Right to Development of the UN Human Rights Commission. Regarded as a stellar personality and intellectual of the South, the late Martin Khor served on the Board of the South Centre (1996-2002) and as its Executive Director (2009-2018). South Centre is an inter-governmental think tank of and for developing countries based in Geneva. He passed away on 1st April 2020 after five years of battling cancer.

Mahadirin Hj. Ahmad, MA, is a Lecturer at the Industrial Relations Programme, Faculty of Humanities, Art and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and currently completing his PhD research at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He is one of the researchers involved in the project entitled “Reconceptualization of Collective Action among Trade Unionists in Sabah”. Email: muhadir@ums.edu.my.

Mohd Azizi Jaeh, M.Soc.Sc., is a PhD candidate at the Political Science Programme, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Prior to that he obtained his Masters in Political Science at the same faculty. His research interest is on political ideology and political parties in Malaysia. Email: tansriazizi@yahoo.com.

Mohd Hazim Shah, Phd, currently serves as a Professor in the School of Languages, Civilisation, and Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, at Universiti Utara Malaysia in Sintok, Kedah, where he teaches philosophy courses under the Bachelor of Philosophy, Law and Business programme. Prior to his retirement in 2015, he was a Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He has also served as the Deputy Director of the International Institute of Public Policy and Management, Universiti Malaya, from October 2017 to August 2018, before joining Universiti Utara Malaysia. He was President of the Malaysian Social Science Association from 2010 to 2014. Email: hazim.shah@gmail.com.

Muhamad Azwan Abd. Rahman, Phd, is a Senior Lecturer at the College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah after obtaining his doctorate in development studies from IKMAS UKM. He has published a book in Malay based on his doctoral work entitled Laluan Sutera Baharu Maritim China: Kerjasama dengan Malaysia dan Indonesia (China’s New Maritime Silk Route and Cooperation with Malaysia and Indonesia) (UKM Press 2018) and is involved in a number of research projects on impact of Covid-19 pandemic on people’s livelihood in Malaysia. Email: azwanrahman77@gmail.com.

K.S. Nathan, Phd, is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Defence & Security (MIDAS), and was previously Professor of International Relations in the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. His major research interests and expertise include Asia-Pacific international relations, Malaysian foreign policy and ASEAN security. Email: nathan200846@yahoo.com.

Norhayati Ismail, M.Soc. Sc., is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Prior to that she obtained her Masters in Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities UKM. Her research interest is on nationalism and leftwing ideology in Malaysia. Email: gain.faith90@gmail.com.

Viswanathan Selvaratnam, Phd, is a Life Member of the Malaysian Social Science Association, a third generation Malaysian and a retired social scientist. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Malaya in Singapore, his Masters at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, and PhD at the University of Manchester. In his previous avatar, he taught sociology at the Faculty of Economics and Public Administration, University of Malaya for many years and briefly at the National University of Singapore. Following that, he had a stint at the World Bank in Washington D.C. as Higher Education Specialist before going into retirement. Some of his publications include: From Dependence to Autonomy: The Development of Asian Universities (ed. with Ph.G. Altbach 1989), ‘Higher Education in the Arab Republic of Yemen’ (1991), ‘Innovation in Higher Education: The Singapore Experience’ (1994), and ‘Malaysia’s Higher Education and the Quest for Developed Nation Status by 2020’ (2016). Email: selvaratnam432@gmail.com.

Suseela Devi Chandran, Phd, is an associate professor at the Faculty of Administrative Science & Policy Studies in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia. Her area of interest is regional groupings in Southeast Asia namely, bilateral relations of ASEAN countries and Malaysia-India bilateral relations. While teaching in UiTM, she also teaches Education in Human Values (EHV) under the auspices of a non-governmental organization in Malaysia. Email: suseela@uitm.edu.my; saisuseela@gmail.com.

Syahida Johan, MA, received her BA in English Creative Writing from the University of Greenwich, and MA Studies in Fiction at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Currently she serves as a Lecturer at the University of Wollongong (UOW) Malaysia, Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU), Kuala Lumpur. Email: syahidajohan@gmail.com.

Zaharul Abdullah, MSocSc is a recipient of Skim Latihan Akademik Muda (SLAM) scholarship, a scholarship for young academics, from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu to undertake doctoral studies after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Social Science (Political Science) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He continued with his PhD studies at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), UKM in development studies. He has recently completed his research and thesis and is awaiting his results. His research interests include the role of the state in development and East Asian studies especially the rise of China and its impacts on the region especially ASEAN. Email: encikzaharul@gmail.com.