To Seek Professional Competency In Social Work Practice, Education And Research
Meet The Malaysian Association of Social Workers Executive Committee Members
Pure Professionalism
Our dedicated team of experienced professionals are always on the ball, utilizing their unique skills and passion to move the work of Malaysian Association of Social Workers (MASW). We’re always pushing ourselves to stay ahead of the curve and striving to perfect our programs. Meet some of our incredible leaders below.
MASW Executive Committee Members For 2021-2023
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PRESIDENT
Professor Dr Azlinda Azman
Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. She was a Fulbright Scholar and obtained her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Clinical Social Work from New York University in 2005. She was appointed as a full Professor in Social Work on 18 December 2015. She is actively involved in advocating for social work education and practice.
She has been appointed as Visiting Professors, external assessor for social work curriculum, external examiner for many postgraduate researches, and international assessor for promotion for many social work educators and practitioners in the region. Internationally, she has been invited as keynote speaker in conferences and symposiums, advocating and providing professional input in social work education and practices. She is also the Convenor of the AIDS Action and Research Group (AARG), a research arm and an action group on HIV/AIDS in USM.
She is also involved in various NGOs, local and internationally. She is actively taking part in the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF), Yayasan Budi Penyayang (YBP), International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), International Association of Schools Social Work (IASSW), and Asia Pacific of Social Work Education (APASWE). On 16 March 2021, she was awarded the Social Work Academic ICON by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysia, for her significant contribution to the development of the Social Work profession in the country.
She has published extensively in international and national indexed journals, research books and chapters in books. Her fields of expertise include social work education/curriculum, theory and methods in social work and social work research. Her areas of research interest include family institution, children and adolescents services, disability, community development, poverty, HIV/AIDS and drug-related issues.
VICE PRESIDENT
Mrs. Amy Bala T.K. Jones
She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science (Social Development and Administration) from University Science Malaysia, Penang.
She worked for 32 years with the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia with experience in alternative care, early childhood care, child protection and supporting children with physical disabilities. She is an appointed member of the Special Project Team at DSW to assist the drafting process of the Social Workers Profession Bill and a committee member of the Supervision Committee, DSW.
She is actively involved in providing training, advisory and advocacy at national and non-governmental levels to ensure professionalism in social work, Child Care and child protection. Past experiences include - Board member of Kolej E2L, Professional Development Board under the Early Childhood Care and Education Council, Malaysia (ECCE Council), Court Advisor at PJ Children's Court.
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HONORARY SECRETARY
Ms. Tina Yap Li Yan
She is a community development practitioner in a local non-profit organisation, Malaysian CARE, for the past 19 years. Her core experience is on learning disabilities. She obtained her Certificate in Special Education with University Science Malaysia and a Diploma in Learning Disorders Management and Child Psychology. She also holds a BA in Psychology, Wawasan Open University. She just completed her Master of Social Work with Universiti Utara Malaysia.
She is currently leading the Social Work Practice portfolio (Manager) under the Service Development. Her work engagement includes finding gaps, developing and pilot testing programmes that best meet the interest of urban poor in Peninsular and community groups in East Malaysia (Sabah) and Perak, technical training for staff (primarily on case management and ethical social work practices) and project beneficiaries. She sat as the Steering Committee Member for Child Rights Coalition Malaysia (year 2020), working to mainstream child rights perspectives and agenda into national advocacy processes and representing the Alliance of Christian Care-Givers and Social Workers Malaysia to promote social work education opportunities in enhancing practice competencies.
She is an appointed member of the Special Project Team by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to assist with the work progress of the Social Workers Profession Bill.
ASSISTANT HONORARY SECRETARY
YBrs Datin Rodhiah Zakaria
She holds a Degree in Science (Human Development), Universiti Pertanian Malaysia and Diploma in Psychology and Counselling, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
She previously worked as the Project Manager in Alternative Child Care, UNICEF, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat and Bernard van Leer Foundation (1986-88). She worked as a Medical Social Worker at University Malaya Medical Centre since 1988 and retired as the Head of the Medical Social Work Department in August 2020. Her experiences include managing cases from various clinical departments, including Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Surgery, Haematology, Oncology, Trauma and Emergency, Primary Care and Psychiatry. This includes rendering psychosocial support to patients and families.
Her area of interest is child protection, family violence, mental health issues and psychological support to chronically ill patients.
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TREASURER
Dr. Noralina Omar
She is a senior lecturer at the Department of Social Administration and Justice, University of Malaya. She graduated from University Putra Malaysia in 1998 with B.S.(Human Dev.) and in 2001 with M.S (Family Ecology). She received her PhD in 2016 in Family Social Work, University of Malaya. Her core area of expertise is Family Social Work.
For over ten years, she has been involved in research and publications focusing on family and children. Her research interests focus on child well-being, family ecology, parent-child relationship and social intervention. Since 2019, she has been actively engaged in community services and social intervention with marginalized group (e.g. homeless, transgender, drug users, problematic teenagers, abusive wives).
She is also the Advisor of Pertubuhan Ar-Riqab Kuala Lumpur, a local non-government organization dealing with marginalised groups. She is also the appointed editorial member for the International Journal of Social Policy and Society (IJSPS) since 2018 until now, a publication under Institute Sosial Malaysia.
EXCO MEMBERS
Mr. Teoh Ai Hua
Mr Teoh Ai Hua is a senior lecturer at the School of Applied Psychology, Social Work and Policy, College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia. He has a degree in Public Administration (UUM) and a MA (Social Work Studies) from the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
His area of interests includes public social services, professionalization of social work, case management and care in the community.
He served as the President of the Malaysian Association of Social Workers (2009-2017), member of the Technical Committee to Improve Social Work Professionalism in Malaysia, Special Project Team member for the Social Work Profession Bill of Malaysia, and member of the Management Committee of the Malaysian Council on Welfare and Social Development (MAKPEM).
He is also active regionally in promoting the profession. He serves as the Honorary Secretary of the International Federation of Social Workers- Asia Pacific and represents the region in the Ethics Commission. He is also President of the Commonwealth Organization for Social Work (COSW) and Honorary Treasurer of the South East Asia and Pacific region of the International Council of Social Welfare (ICSW-SEAP).
EXCO MEMBERS
Mrs. Noranida Nawawi
Mrs Nor Anida Nawawi holds a Master in Medical Social Work, University Kebangsaan Malaysia and Degree in Human Sciences (Psychology), The International Islamic University of Malaysia
She is currently working as a medical social worker at University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Her core clinical area is Paediatrics and Gynaecology, which focus on child protection, family violence, support therapy, and counselling for women. Previously, she handled and managing social work issues in the various clinical departments, including Medical, Orthopedic & Surgery, Hematology, Oncology, Cardiology, and Rehabilitation Unit. This includes rendering psychosocial support to patients and families.
She is also currently active as one of the Psychosocial Support Team members who give Psychological First Aid (PFA) to the UMMC's frontline workers.
EXCO MEMBERS
Ms. Sharima Ruwaida Abbas
EXCO MEMBERS
Mr. Helmy Ishak
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INTERNAL AUDITOR
Mr. Sayed Mawismi Sayed Mohamed Mustar
He has a Bachelor in Psychology with Honours from Open University Malaysia.
Currently works as Assistant Social Development Officer under Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur for the past 12 years. He has been involved in the correctional and rehabilitative intervention settings under Jabatan Penjara Malaysia and the Community Service Order Division. He has a profound interest in criminology, juvenile delinquency rehabilitation, the juvenile justice system, child development, and disability studies. Throughout his experiences being a practitioner and in academics, he has been elected to be one of the panellists in developing documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Community Service Order under JKM since 2017. He has also been chosen to be part of other Subject Matter Experts in developing National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS) in 2019, specifically for correctional services in Malaysia.
With his experiences gained throughout the years, he has been given opportunities to deliver talks, presenting papers, developing the manual toolkit, and sharing expertise in child protection, juvenile justice settings, and disabilities studies - among others – at the International Special Education Exhibition in 2019, and International Congress of Psychology in 2021, also has involved actively with the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action since 2019.
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INTERNAL AUDITOR
Mr. Mohamed Afiq Mohamed Fauzi
He holds a Degree in Arts, majoring in Social Administration and Justice from the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, the University of Malaya, in 2009. He graduated with a Master of Medical Social Work from the Faculty of Medicine, the National University of Malaysia, in 2013.
He received training from the Kuantan General Hospital and worked at Yayasan Chow Kit before working at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. His early career begins as a Research Assistant at the University of Malaya, focusing on transgender groups. He was offered as Medical Social Worker in the year 2014 at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Various experience in the clinical unit and social issues such as domestic and child abuse cases. Currently, given the opportunity to manage stroke and COVID-19 cases. Published articles on surrogate mothers and paediatric chronic illness.
Current research now focusing COVID-19 toward medical social worker intervention.
We’re proud to be a group of movers and shakers.