Committees | The Malaysian Psychometrics Association

Dr. Haniza Yon

President

Dr. Haniza Yon was the founding President of the Malaysian Psychometrics Association (MPA), and is currently serving her seventh presidential term. She is a social scientist with a long-standing interest in psychometrics, and a passionate advocate of fairness and high standards in testing. She obtained her PhD in Measurement and Quantitative Methods from Michigan State University, USA.

She has been working in psychometrics for more than 20 years, primarily as a psychometrician at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey, USA, and as a Director of the Psychometrics Lab at MIMOS Berhad, Malaysia. Psychometric technologies that rely on intellectual property produced by her are widely used in many government and private organisations in various industries in Malaysia and foreign countries. Her main research interest is in the application of psychometrics and digital assessment technology in measuring human potential and capabilities.

She can be contacted at hanizayon@gmail.com or president@mpa-ppm.org.

Prof. Dr. Rosna binti Awang-Hashim

Vice-President 1

Professor Dr. Rosna Awang-Hashim is a Professor of Educational Psychology with the School of Education and Modern Languages, UUM College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia. She obtained her BA and MA degrees from the University of North Texas (UNT), and her PhD from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, USA.

Her research interests among others include socio-psychological processes in teaching and learning interactions, learning engagement and non-experimental quantitative research with emphasis on causal modelling. She is the current Chief Editor of the SCOPUS listed Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction (MJLI) and has widely published numerous papers on measurement, and on learning and motivational issues in both local and international journals.

She is the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Dr. Rahimah Adam

Vice-President 2

Dr. Rahimah Adam is presently Head of Sector in the Policy Management and Development Sector at the Examinations Syndicate, Ministry of Education Malaysia. She graduated from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom with a PhD in Education specializing is educational assessment. She obtained her Masters of Education (Educational Management) from the International Islamic University Malaysia and Diploma of Education (English) from the Special Knowledge Teaching College. She attained her first degree, which was in architecture, from the University of Miami, Florida, USA.

She has been working at the Examinations Syndicate since 2003, undertaking various responsibilities and tasks related to educational assessment. Previously she worked as a secondary school teacher. Her research interests include assessment for learning, authentic assessment, and teacher training in assessment competence. She has published and presented papers on competency-based assessment, school-based assessment, and alternative assessment at various national and international conferences.

She can be contacted at rahimah.adam@moe.gov.my or raiadam11@gmail.com.

Ms. Nur Ayu Johar

Secretary 1

Nur Ayu is a trained associate psychometrician with almost 10 years of industry experience. She obtained her B. Ed (Mathematics) from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia and her M. Ed (Measurement & Evaluation) from the National University of Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Educational Measurement at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Her research interests include, among others, educational measurement and psychometrics. She has published and presented several papers on measurement, psychometrics and on issues related to education.

She can be contacted at harnaj@gmail.com.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhafezah binti Yusof

Secretary 2

Associate Professor Dr. Norhafezah Yusof is a former Head of Department in the School of Multimedia Technology & Communication, Universiti Utara Malaysia. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication. She obtained her BHSc and MHSc (Communication) from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Organizational Communication and her PhD (Communication) from Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom in 2008.

She has been teaching and researching since 2001 at UUM. She was a Visiting Scholar at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She received a leadership training scholarship under DAAD, Germany. She was appointed as a master trainer in Learner Diversity with the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT), a communications expert for the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), the Assistant Secretary of the Malaysian Psychometric Association (MPA), and to the editorial board for the Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction (indexed in SCOPUS, ERA & ESCI). Her research interests include culture, religion, education, management and media.

She can be contacted at norhafezah@uum.edu.my.

Dr. Lee Leh Hong

Assistant Secretary

Dr. Lee Leh Hong is a Senior Lecturer in the Research and Innovation Department, Institute of Teacher Education, Ilmu Khas Campus. She has more than 30 years of experience working in the field of education. Besides her current position, she has also worked as a senior researcher at MIMOS Psychometrics Cluster, as a test developer at Malaysian Examination Syndicate, and as an assistant director at the Teacher Education Division and Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia.

Her primary areas of expertise are test development and structural equation modelling. She has been involved in research and training in the area of educational assessment. Her interests are in educational assessment, program evaluation, and test/instrument development. Her publications include a book on Educational Assessment (Pentaksiran dalam Pendidikan), as well as articles in refereed journals. She has been involved in educational assessment research since 2007. Her PhD thesis used structural equation modelling to test a proposed model of factors influencing the implementation of school-based assessment.

She can be contacted at sharonlee@ipgkik.edu.my.

Ms. Kok Mun Yee

Treasurer

Mun Yee is a trained psychometric test developer with over seven years of industry experience, focusing on driving innovative organisational and people development solutions, as well as the development of non-cognitive assessments. She is interested in psychological testing and its implications for modern industries. She holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology (HELP University). Following her passion for the field of industrial-organisational psychology, she completed her MSc in Management Psychology at the University of Nottingham Malaysia.

Given her experience in both academic and commercial research, she is keen on integrating her learning experiences to best support clients’ priorities. She is a firm believer in the growth mindset.

She can be contacted at mandykmyee@gmail.com.

Dr. S. Kanageswari Suppiah Shanmugam

Assistant Treasurer

Dr. S. Kanageswari Suppiah Shanmugam is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Education and Modern Languages, UUM College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Education with double majors in Mathematics and English, her Master’s degree in Psychometrics and Educational Measurement and her Doctoral degree in Psychometrics and Educational Evaluation, all from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.

She served as a teacher for 14 years before joining SEAMEO RECSAM as a Mathematics Education Specialist. She is an active member of the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the International Community of Emergent Researchers in Mathematics Education based at University of Hamburg, Germany. She is an Associate Member for the Network on Education Quality Monitoring in the Asia-Pacific UNESCO Bangkok. She is also on the advisory board for the Philippines Basic Education Math Teachers’ Society and the Penang Education Council. Her specialisation is in educational measurement focusing on reliability and validity issues in cross-cultural assessments, particularly in mathematics.

She can be contacted at Kanageswari@uum.edu.my.

Dr. Tan Poh Pow

Ordinary Committee Member 1

Dr. Tan Poh Pow is an ardent student of change management and statistical thinking who is passionately striving to make policing and police leadership simpler and more meaningful to anyone who shares his ideals. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the Northern University of Malaysia and is a Registered Counsellor with the Board of Counsellors, Malaysia.

Dr. Tan has held various posts with the Royal Malaysia Police, notably in the area of logistics and management. On promotion to Assistant Commissioner of Police, he assumed a role in competencies management at the Federal Police Headquarters. Dr. Tan uses psychometric techniques, along with BEI, to help identify differentiating competencies of high-performance and high-potential police officers to realise the Force’s HR transformation agenda.

He can be contacted at pptanistj@gmail.com.

Dr. Jeya Velu

Ordinary Committee Member 2

Dr. Jeya Velu has been a senior lecturer at the Teacher Education Institution of Malaysia. She has 37 years of experience in education as a teacher and teacher educator. She obtained her B.Sc. (Hons Chemistry) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor; her M.A. (Measurement and Quantitative Methods) from Michigan State University, USA; and her PhD (Educational Psychology) from International Islamic University Malaysia, Gombak Selangor. She obtained an Excellence Lecturer Award in Research in 2017 from the Ministry of Education.

She has been conducting research and publishing research articles in journals since 1994, and has presented research papers at both local and foreign conferences. Among her research interests are educational measurement, developing and validating measurement models, higher-order thinking skills, and issues related to teaching and learning. Her areas of expertise include measurement, developing and validating instruments, evaluating measurement models using Structural Equation Modelling, creativity and innovation in education, and Strategic Planning for Educational Institutions.

She can be contacted at velujeya@gmail.com.

Dr. Norashady Mohd Nor

Ordinary Committee Member 3

Dr Norashady bin Mohd Noor is a senior lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department, Polytechnic Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS), Tanjong Malim, Perak. He has 12 years of work experience as a lecturer. He received his Doctorate degree (Psychometrics) from the Sultan Idris Education University in 2017.

Apart from teaching Mechanical Engineering courses, he is actively writing research publications. His research interests are mainly concentrated on Educational Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation. He also provides consulting services in the mechanical automotive engineering field.

Dr. Mohd Nizam Mohd Ali

Ordinary Committee Member 4

Since 2004, Dr Mohd Nizam Mohd Ali has been the (Senior) Director at the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, Kuala Lumpur. He provides institutional consultancy to stakeholders on governance and integrity systems.

He can be contacted at nizam@integriti.my.

Dr. Nurliyana Bukhari

Ordinary Committee Member 5

Dr. Nurliyana Bukhari received her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the Educational Research Methodology Department with a concentration on Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation. She has a Master of Science in Education from the University of Miami in the same major as her PhD. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education, with a major in Information Technology and a minor in TESL, from the Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Her research focuses on examining the multidimensional factors in next-generation assessment systems that may affect students’ test scores, especially for English Learners (ELs) and students with disabilities (SWD). Other research interests include multidimensional and unidimensional item response theory, language testing, and program evaluation.

Previously, she interned at the internationally renowned testing company CTB/McGraw Hill Education, in Monterey, California (now a division of Data Recognition Corporation). There she worked on a computer-based K-12 interim assessment program to examine the psychometric characteristics of a sample of innovative item formats such as technology-enhanced items and computerized performance exercises.

Dr. Mohd Zali Mohd Nor

Ordinary Committee Member 6

Dr. Mohd Zali Mohd Nor is an IT Manager in a shipping services company. He received his BSc in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 1988, his Master of Management in IT from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2005, and his PhD in Management Information Systems in 2012.

In 2009, he began studying Rasch measurement models, especially Rating Scale, Partial Credit, and Facets models. As Vice President of myRasch, he is currently active in both training in and consulting on Rasch analysis. In this capacity, he has provided assistance to government agencies, educational testing institutions, and postgraduate students from various local universities.

Dr. Rubiah Dalail

Ordinary Committee Member 7

Dr. Rubiah Dalail obtained her BA and MA degrees in Accountancy and her PhD in Education (Testing and Evaluation) from Universiti Teknologi MARA. She has served in the Malaysian Examination Syndicate of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia since 2003 and has been deployed in various sectors, including production, operational and policy management, and development.

She is now a key researcher in the following areas: items to test higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), item questionography and evaluation, item building procedures, and officer competency testing. She has also presented and published papers on standards-based assessment.

She can be contacted at drubiah@ymail.com or rubiahdalail@moe.gov.

Hajah Norsida Ibrahim

Ordinary Committee Member 8

Hajah Norsida binti Ibrahim is the Principal Assistant Director of the Psychometric Unit at the Malaysian Examination Syndicate in the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Malaysia.

She received her Honours Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the International Islamic University Malaysia, a diploma in Education from Maktab Perguruan Teknik, and a Master’s degree in Education from Sultan Idris Education University.

She can be contacted at norsidaibrahim7567@gmail.com.

The function of the committee is to organize and supervise the day-to-day activities of the association and to make decisions on matters affecting its running within the general policy laid down by the general meeting.

The table below introduces the elected committee members. More biographical data for a member will appear if you hover your mouse over the member's entry.

President	Dr. Haniza Yon Consulting Psychometrician
Vice-President 1	Prof. Dr. Rosna binti Awang-Hashim Professor Educational Psychology Universiti Utara Malaysia
Vice-President 2	Dr. Rahimah Adam Deputy Director of Examinations (Assessment Policy) Examinations Syndicate Ministry of Education Malaysia
Secretary 1	Ms. Nur Ayu Johar Consulting Measurement Specialist
Secretary 2	Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhafezah binti Yusof Associate Professor Department of Communications School of Multimedia Technology & Communication University Utara Malaysia
Assistant Secretary	Dr. Lee Leh Hong Lecturer, Research & Development Department Institute of Teacher Education Specialist Ilmu Khas Campus Ministry of Education
Treasurer	Ms. Kok Mun Yee Consulting Psychologist
Assistant Treasurer	Dr. S. Kanageswari Suppiah Shanmugam Senior Lecturer School of Education and Modern Languages UUM College of Arts and Sciences Universiti Utara Malaysia Kedah
Ordinary Committee Member 1	Dr. Tan Poh Pow ACP Competency Management Royal Malaysia Police
Ordinary Committee Member 2	Dr. Jeya Velu Consulting Measurements and Quantitative Methods
Ordinary Committee Member 3	Dr. Norashady Mohd Nor Senior Lecturer Mechanical Engineering Department Polytechnic Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS) Malaysia
Ordinary Committee Member 4	Dr. Mohd Nizam Mohd Ali Director Malaysian Institute of Integrity
Ordinary Committee Member 5	Dr. Nurliyana Bukhari School of Education and Modern Languages UUM College of Arts and Sciences Universiti Utara Malaysia
Ordinary Committee Member 6	Dr. Mohd Zali Mohd Nor IT Manager Newstar Agencies Sdn. Bhd.
Ordinary Committee Member 7	Dr. Rubiah Dalail Malaysian Examination Syndicate Ministry of Education, Malaysia
Ordinary Committee Member 8	Hajah Norsida Ibrahim Principal Assistant Director Malaysian Examination Syndicate Ministry of Education, Malaysia

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