Distinguished Prof. Datuk Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin (Shamsul A. B.) is the founding director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). To-date, he is one of the only four Distingiushed Professors in Malaysia. He has accumulated over forty years of teaching and research experience within the University of Malaya and UKM. He did his post-doctoral at CNRS Paris in 1986. The focus of his research, writing and lectures has been on politics, culture and economic development within Southeast Asia. He has been a frequent political commentator and analyst in local and international mass media, such as Al-Jazeera, Channel News Asia, BBC London, ABC Australia and The National Geographic.