ASSOC. PROF. DR. AZMIL MOHD TAYEB

Operational Director & Co-Founder

Dr. Azmil is a political scientist who has done extensive research on political Islam, social movements and local government politics, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia. He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow (remote) at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, Visiting Fellow at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII), and an Adjunct Professor at Universitas Negeri Malang in East Java, Indonesia. He is the author of the award-winning book "Islamic Education in Indonesia and Malaysia: Shaping Minds, Saving Souls" (Routledge, 2018).He is also the co-editor of “Education and Power in Contemporary Southeast Asia” (Routledge, 2023).

He has consulted numerous local and international organizations such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Malaysia and Indonesia, Varieties of Democracy Global Project at University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Asia Research Center at Universitas Indonesia, the Local Government Politics in Southeast Asia project at the Australian National University, The World Muslim Communities Council in Abu Dhabi, IMAN Research, among others.

He has carried out impact assessment projects on numerous topics ranging from political financing, Indian women’s political participation, social scientists’ roles in COVID19 policy-making, public goods distribution in the city of Kota Bharu, and prevention of extremism in religious education in Malaysia, viability of non-traditional forms of voting especially e-voting, and most recently, assessing civic space and funding sustainability for civil society organizations in Malaysia.

He is also the Vice Chair (Peninsular Malaysia) of BERSIH, the national coalition for electoral and institutional reforms, and the Deputy Secretary of ALIRAN, a Penang-based peace and social justice CSO. He sits on the board of advisors for IMAN Research and INITIATE. MY, national think tanks focusing on extremism and ethno-religious politics in Malaysia.

DR. NURFARHANA CHE AWANG

Managing Director & Co-Founder

Dr. Nurfarhana Che Awang is a political scientist whose work lies at the intersection of inclusive citizenship, education policy, identity politics, and public governance in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. With nearly a decade of teaching and research experience, she brings academic depth and policy insight to critical regional issues including gender, poverty, migrant labour, and public health. Her work is grounded in a commitment to bridging research and impact—advancing inclusive, evidence-based policy through collaboration and public engagement. A recognised expert in the National Education Philosophy and its relationship to inclusive citizenship, Dr. Nurfarhana is widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of inclusive citizenship in education in Malaysia. Her scholarship explores how educational frameworks, curriculum politics, and state ideology shape citizenship formation, national identity, and political inclusion.

Her areas of expertise include:

Citizenship and Inclusive Citizenship, Politics of Education, National Education Philosophy, Identity Politics, Federalism, Malaysian Politics, Gender Equality and Feminism, Violent Extremism, Public Health, Poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Social Movements, and Migrant Labour.

She previously served nearly a decade as a lecturer at a private university (Segi College, Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University & Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), and has held key research and leadership roles, including as Head of Research Exco Secretariat with Naratif Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Research Officer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM); Her research portfolio is both interdisciplinary and impact-oriented, with a strong foundation in qualitative methodology. She has led and contributed to numerous studies focused on grassroots communities—especially those affected by poverty, marginalisation, and inequality.

She was involved in a community-based research project under the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG), examining abandoned housing in Kampung Bunga Raya, Selangor. The study’s findings were later published as a book chapter, contributing to national conversations on urban poverty and sustainable housing policy.

With IMAN Research, Dr. Nurfarhana has contributed to several high-impact projects, including a study on youth migration from Southern Thailand to Malaysia, and a countering violent extremism (CVE) project supported by the Canadian High Commission that focused on Rohingya refugee communities in Malaysia. Her work in this area explores vulnerability factors and strengthens community-based resilience strategies.

At the regional level, she has worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pusat Penelitian Islam dan Masyarakat (PPIM) at Universitas Islam Negeri Jakarta on a comparative study of religious education and CVE in Malaysia. She also collaborated with the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University, Thailand, on a regional study of social protection responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on informal and marginalised workers.

As a Research Fellow at the North South Initiative (NSI), Dr. Nurfarhana has led policy research for Malaysia’s Budget 2024 and 2025, advocating for the rights of non-citizen populations, including stateless and undocumented communities. She co-authored the forthcoming publication “Roots to Fruits: Integrated with Malaysia Integrity,” which highlights civil society strategies for institutional accountability and community resilience.

In her development policy work, she has provided research consultancy to the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) on a proposal titled “Socioeconomic Development and the Impact of Rural Poverty,” exploring sustainable livelihoods, infrastructure equity, and youth economic participation.

Dr. Nurfarhana also plays an active role in research impact evaluation. She contributed to the Ministry of Higher Education’s national assessment of Malaysia’s Higher Institution Centres of Excellence (HiCOE), evaluating research impact, governance, and funding effectiveness. More recently, she supported the Ministry of Economy (TERAJU) in assessing the outcomes of Bumiputera Economic Empowerment initiatives.

Her work reflects a multidisciplinary approach that integrates political analysis, ethnographic inquiry, and strategic policy advocacy. As the founder of the inclusive citizenship in education policy in Malaysia, Dr. Nurfarhana continues to shape national discourse and policy around equity, citizenship, and nation-building in education and beyond.