SEASSR Vol. 6, No. 2 (July-Dec 2021)

Abdul Halim Ali, MA, a veteran sociologist, one of the pioneering members of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) who helped set up the department in May 1970 when the university was being established. He taught sociology in UKM for more than three decades, serving in various capacities including as Dean of the Faculty of Development Science. After retiring from UKM, he moved to Sarawak where he was appointed professor and Chair of Nusantara Studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak for several years until full retirement. Email: aha750@gmail.com

Ahmad Kafrawi Mahmud, M.Si, is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Alauddin Makassar, with a focus on labour economics, digital economy, entrepreneurship and development economics. He is also the head of the Entrepreneurship Lab at the same faculty, and manager of the Career Development Centre of the university. His journal publications include Factors Affecting Income Of Rice Farmers In Pattallassang, Gowa District, South Sulawesi. Email: ahmad.kafrawi@uin-alaudin.ac.id

Anuwar Ali. Ph.D., (Emeritus Professor, Tan Sri), an economist, has been appointed as the Chancellor of University of Cyberjaya since September 2019, and a Member of the Board of Governors of Meritus University Kuala Lumpur since 2017. Previously, he was the President/Vice Chancellor of Open University Malaysia (OUM) for 12 years from 2004 to 2015. Prior to the appointment, he was the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for a period of five (5) years (1998-2003). He graduated with a BSc (Economics) degree from the Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1970, Masters from the University of Leicester, and PhD from the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom. He was the first academic being posted to the Ministry of Education as its Director of Higher Education (1996-1998). Before that, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, UKM and thereafter as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs). Email: anuwarbinali@gmail.com.

Aulia Rahman B., M.Si., is a lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Alauddin Makassar, Indonesia. He is also a researcher for the local development planning agency, Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan, Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah (BAPPELIGBANGDA) for three regencies namely Kabupaten Bulukumba, Kabupaten Keerom dan Kabupaten Jayapura. Some of his publications include Effectiveness of Village Fund Allocations in Improving Physical Development in the Gowa Regency, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia. Email: aulia.rahman@uin- alauddin.ac.id

Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk, PhD, obtained a B.A. in political science from DePaul University in 1998 and completed his M.A. and PhD in political science at the University of Malaya. He is an associate professor and director at the Centre for Policy Research and International Studies (CenPRIS) Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He was a visiting scholar at the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin, the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, and the Department of Social Sciences, the University of Fribourg Switzerland. Email: azeemf@usm.my.

Azrina Husin, PhD, is a sociologist and Associate Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). She specializes in sociology of the media in particular media representations, advertising and audience studies. Her current research interests revolve around social media particularly in the interplay between entertainment and information. She has served in Kajian Malaysia’s Editorial Board and is a regular reviewer for many other journals including Pertanika. She is the co-author of a chapter in Global Goes Local: Popular Culture in Asia (2002) published by University of Hawaii Press. She is a member of the Malaysian Social Science Association (PSSM) and International Sociological Association (ISA). Email: azrina@usm.my.

Baso Iwang, PhD, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Alauddin Makassar, Indonesia since 2018. Before that he served in the development planning unit (BAPPEDA) in the local government of Maros, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. He obtained both his Bacheor’s and Master’s degree in Economic Development and Planning at Universitas Hasanuddin (UNHAS), Sulawesi Selatan, while his PhD in Development Studies was obtained at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2015. He has published several articles, including “Penglibatan Komuniti dalam Perusahaan Sutera di Tiga Kabupaten (Wajo, Enrekang dan Soppeng), Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia”, Southeast Asian Social Science Review, Vol 4(1) 2019. Email: baso. iwang@uin-alauddin.ac.id

Heng Siam-Heng, Ph.D., is a retired professor of management studies. He has held academic appointments at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of South Australia, National University of Singapore, Fudan University of China and four other Asian universities. His latest book is COVID-19 and the Structural Crises of Our Time (co-authored with Lim Mah Hui, and published by ISEAS Publishing, Singapore). He has published 5 other books, several dozen journal papers and book chapters on business and management, Asian modernization, globalization, ASEAN, nation building, and postmodernism. He was the associate editor of the business weekly Asia360˚. He has contributed op-ed articles to South China Morning Post, China Daily (HK), China Watch, IPP Review, Edge (Malaysia) and Straits Times. Email: hsh9839@yahoo.com.

Jatswan Singh Sidhu, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of International and Strategic Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya UM. He is the Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Institute (AEI) and also the Director of Centre for ASEAN Regionalism (CARUM) at the same university. He was the Head of Department of International and Strategic Studies and has been serving the University of Malaya for more than 30 years. He obtained his Ph.D. in Human Rights and International Politics from the Leeds University. He is the editor (with Rajah Rasiah and Azirah Hashim) of Contesting Malaysia’s Integration into the World Economy (2021, Palgrave Macmillan). Email: jatswanh@um.edu.my.

Md. Said bin Zainol, PhD, is a retired professor with nearly 46 years of experience in teaching Statistical Theory, Stochastic Models, Econometric Modelling & Forecasting, Managerial Decision Analysis, Forecasting & Econometrics. His last posting was as Professor, Center of Studies for Statistics & Decision Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. He actively participates in research related to corporate integrity, and has participated as Head Consultant or Guest Consultant in a total of 60 projects since retiring in 1998. He is a member of Malaysian Mathematical Society (PERSAMA), Management Science & Operations Research Society, Malaysia (MSORSM), Malaysian Institute of Statistics (ISM) (Member), and Fellow, Royal Statistical Society, United Kingdom (1984). Email: saidzainol@gmail.com.

Mohd Rezaidi Mohd Ishak, MBA, is a former Deputy Director and Lead Consultant from the Malaysian Institute of Integrity where he served for 14 years. His primary scope there was promoting the National Anti-Corruption Plan agenda (NACP) and related instruments such as Anti-Bribery Management System ISO37001, Corruption Risk Management, Integrity Assessment Tool and Corporate Integrity System training programme to promote corporate governance, business ethics and corporate sustainability. During his stint in IIM, he co-edited among others: Good Governance for Development (2006), and Corporate Social Responsibility: Our First Look (2007). Rezaidi specializes in Integrity Assessment Tool (IAT), Community Integrity Building (CIB), Corruption Risk Management (CRM), implementation of ISO 37001: Anti-Corruption Management System (ABMS), Guidelines on Adequate Procedures Section 17(A) Corporate Liability Provisions of MACC Act and also conducts training on instruments related to the Corporate Integrity System. Rezaidi also serves as an advisor in the task force in connection with the establishment of the Integrity and Governance Unit for the private sector and statutory bodies. In 2021, he joined the alumni of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), based in Austria. Email: rezaidiishak@gmail.com.

Noor Yuslinda Mohd Yusof, MA, has over 14 years of experience in corporate communications, change management and project management, spanning the areas of advocacy, transformation, and human resources. She spent 5 years with the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM), specializing in Business Ethics and Corporate Integrity. She was the secretariat for the UNDP Capacity Building Project and was later selected to train under the Asian Young Leaders in Good Governance programme. Soon after, she joined CIMB Group Human Resources, first in regional management reporting and then to Regional HRBP Support Lead, and was appointed as the Business Continuity Management Divisional Continuity Coordinator (HR). She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Wichita State University, Kansas, USA. Email: noor.yuslinda@commspena.com.

Sarjit S. Gill, PhD, is a Professor in Social Anthropology at the Department of Social and Development Sciences, Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). His research interest and core expertise are primarily in minority studies, specializing in the Sikh community of Malaysia. The other ethnic minority communities he has been researching on are the Orang Asli (indigenous groups), Peranakan Chetti, Baba Nyonya, Siam, India-Muslim, Gurkha and the Portuguese communities in Peninsular Malaysia and selected native groups in Sabah and Sarawak. The main thrust of his expertise is social development of minority communities in Malaysia. Some of his key publications include: “Measuring Sustainable Indigenous Tourism Indicators: Sustainable Societal Peace through the Integration of Bioethics Principles and Value-Based Education” (Sustainability, 2021); “Sikh Women Diaspora in Malaysia: The Reality of Their Role and Status in the Religious Domain” (Millennial Asia, 2018); “Disaster Communication in Managing Vulnerabilities” (Malaysian Journal of Communication, 2018) and, “A Case of Mah Meri Ethnic Group in Carey Island, Malaysia” (Sustainability, 2017). Email: sarjit@upm.edu.my.

Sity Daud, PhD, is a professor in political economy at the Center for History, Politics and International Affairs, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and is currently the Deputy President of the Malaysian Social Science Association. Her single-authored book is, Dasar Pembangunan dan Populisme di Malaysia [Development Policy and Populism in Malaysia], published by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Press (2020). Her latest journal article is “The COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis in Malaysia: The Social Protection Program” in Journal of Developing Societies (2021). Email: sitydaud@ukm.edu.my.

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.

Zaharul Abdullah, PhD, is a recipient of Skim Latihan Akademik Muda (SLAM), a scholarship for young academics, from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) to undertake doctoral studies. He holds a PhD in development studies from the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). He completed his BA and MSocSc both in Political Science from UKM. He currently works as a research officer at the Academy of Professors Malaysia (APM). His research interests include the role of the state in development and East Asian studies especially the rise of China and its impacts on ASEAN. Email: encikzaharul@gmail.com.

Zahid Zamri, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2021 from the Department of International and Strategic Studies, University of Malaya with a thesis entitled “Reframing Organic Intellectuals in Malaysia: Women’s Advocacy Amongst Selected Malay Muslim Women Academics”. He is the author of a research book (with Muhamad Fuzi Omar) entitled Syed Husin Ali’s Socio-Political Thoughts and Contributions (2017, IIUM Press). Email: zahidzamri@iium.edu.my.