DEPUTY DIRECTOR

MUHAMMAD AIZAT BIN ZAINAL ALAM

(+603) 7967 2711 | aizatz@um.edu.my

Dr. Muhammad Aizat bin Zainal Alam is currently the Deputy Director of Research in SWRC. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Business and Economics and serves as an Associate Editor of the Institutions and Economies journal. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Malaya, where his doctoral research focused on retirement preparedness, financial literacy, savings behaviour, and the application of machine learning in economic analysis. Prior to joining Universiti Malaya he worked at the Securities Commission Malaysia, where he researched and developed capital market regulations. He obtained his Bachelor of Science (Actuarial Science) from UiTM and Master of Economics from Universiti Malaya.

His current work centres on social protection, with particular interest in addressing coverage and implementation gaps, enhancing inclusivity for underserved populations, and strengthening institutional and policy frameworks. Dr. Aizat is actively engaged in interdisciplinary research that bridges academic inquiry with practical policy impact.

NIK NOOR AINOON NIK OSMAN

(+603) 7967 3768 | niknoon@um.edu.my

Nik Noor Ainoon is currently the Deputy Director of Administration at SWRC. Prior to joining SWRC, she was in the banking industry for more than 20 years, where she held managerial positions specialising in the areas of consumer finance and international banking. Her previous employment includes a four-year stint at the credit department of Maybank London. Her current research field is financial literacy and old-age financial wellbeing. She is the principal researcher for the Reference Budget for Malaysians, or ‘Belanjawanku’, an expenditure guide for Malaysians, which is an ongoing collaborative research project between Universiti Malaya and the Employees Provident Fund Malaysia (EPF). She is also involved in developing and co-coordinating the centre's Pension and Retirement Professional Programme (PRPP), a capacity-building programme for practitioners in the social protection, finance, and insurance industries.

She obtained her Bachelor of Economics (Analytical Economics) and Master’s in Business Administration (distinction) with dual concentrations in Islamic Finance and International Business Management from Universiti Malaya. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the same university. Her research interests include household finance and economics, social protection, and the ageing population.