Senior Leadership

Dr Chan has an interesting career as an academic, economic advisor, and entrepreneur. He is Co-Founder, Chancellor and President of HELP University (Malaysia), and is also Co-Founder of HELP International Corporation, which is listed in the Malaysian Stock Exchange.

 

He read economics at the University of Malaya, McMaster University, Canada and completed his PhD at the Australian National University. Dr Chan has a distinguished academic career. He was Chairman, Division of Applied Economics, University of Malaya.

 

Dr Chan was also trained in advanced leadership in the renowned Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, USA.

 

Dr Chan is a member of Australia TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency). He is also a member of the Malaysian National Higher Education Council. In addition Dr Chan is also appointed by CSCSE (Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, MOE China) to be a member of Study Abroad Training Centers (SATC) Quality Assurance Counselling Panel.

 

He is also advisor to several educational institutions in China, US and Australia.

 

For his contributions to education he received honorary doctoral degrees from British and Australian universities. He is also a member of the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame of the prestigious Australian National University in recognition of his achievements in entrepreneurship. Dr Chan is President of the Malaysian ANU Alumni and Chairs the ANU Alumni Scholarship Committee.

 

Dr Chan has consulted to many international organizations. He has contributed to various Malaysian Government projects, including the first Industrial Master Plan and other national plans. Dr Chan assisted in constructing the KLSE Composite Index and was Chairman of the Committee during 1991-2001. He has also consulted to many MNCs in leadership and strategy studies.

 

As an entrepreneur, he has been involved in different roles in the corporate sector. He has been director of public companies and has founded and managed several private enterprises.

 

He is a regular speaker in international forums. Dr Chan writes a column in Nanyang Siang Pau.

 

For his contribution to education, Dr Chan was awarded the Panglima Jasa Negara (P.J.N) by the King of Malaysia. This grants him the title of Datuk.

 

In December 2011 he represented HELP to receive the 2011 Forbes Award for the top 200 Asia Pacific companies below US$ 1 billion. He is also a recipient of the Education Innovation Award given by the World Education Congress (2012).

Professor Dr Andy Liew currently serves as the Vice Chancellor at HELP University and has a remarkable career spanning over 30 years in the academic realm. He has held senior administrative positions in various conventional and open-distance learning institutions in Malaysia.

 

His expertise encompasses a wide range of disciplines and areas of interest. He focuses on quality assurance in higher education, strategic planning, online teaching and learning, Open Educational Resources (OER), accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL), and breeding and cloning of plants. His diverse knowledge allows him to contribute significantly towards the advancement of education within multiple fields.

 

Recognised as a valuable resource person and appointed lead assessor for the Malaysian Qualifications Agency and Ministry of Higher Education, Professor Dr Andy Liew has played an instrumental role in shaping national policies and frameworks. He has chaired the Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s panel of experts in the development of General Guidelines of Practice for Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL.C and APEL.Q), as well as the Code of Practice for Programme Accreditation for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes. He was also involved in developing the General Guidelines of Practice for APEL.A during Malaysia’s initial introduction of APEL in 2011.

 

Professor Dr Andy Liew’s engagement in international organisations and collaborations has granted him a vast network of peers from renowned ODL institutions across Asia, the Commonwealth of Learning, the International Council for Open & Distance Education, and UNESCO Bangkok. His contributions extend beyond national boundaries, serving as the Secretary-General for the Asian Association of Open Universities from 2010 to 2012, which connected him with over 60 open universities and institutions across the Asia region.

 

In his current capacity, Professor Dr Andy Liew remains at the forefront of the ever-evolving landscape of higher education. His interests and involvement revolve around the digital transformation of higher education institutions, quality assurance in online learning, accreditation of prior experiential learning, and change management. Through his leadership and expertise, Professor Dr Andy Liew continues to make significant contributions to the advancement and innovation of higher education, both in Malaysia and on the international stage.

Dr Khong Kim Hoong has served as Academic Director of HELP University College since 1991 and is responsible for academic and administrative matters. He is now the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of HELP University.

 

He graduated from the University of Malaya in 1969, where he was the President of the Students Union and also the Protem Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian University Students. He won the Gold Medal as the university’s Best All Round Student for his excellent academic performance and leadership.

Dr Khong was awarded the prestigious Ford Foundation Fellowship, and completed his PhD in Political Science in 1975 at the University of Pittsburgh, USA.

 

He taught at the University of Malaya, and was the Chairman of Public Administration Division. His other professional activities include being Secretary of the Academic Staff Association (1976-77) and Secretary of the Malaysian Economic Association (1979-82).

 

Dr. Khong’s various international appointments include Visiting Fellowships at Ohio University (USA), University of Sydney (Australia), East-West Center (Hawaii), the Japan Institute of International Affairs (Tokyo) and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore). He was also a Visiting Professor at the Helsinki School of Economics in Finland (2001-2009).

 

Dr. Khong has many publications in academic journals. His books and monographs include: “MERDEKA: British Rule and the Struggle for Independence in Malaya”, “The 1990 Malaysian Elections: Continuity, Change and Ethnic Politics” and “The Politics of Japan-Vietnam Relations”. He has presented many papers on higher education at many forums.

Professor Dato Dr. Zakaria Ahmad (“Zack”) is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the HELP University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and CEO of the HELP Academy.

 

Concurrently, Prof. Zakaria is also the Distinguished Fellow of the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College (MPAT), the Malaysian Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), and the Institute of Public Security of Malaysia (IPSOM. Prof Zack served as a Board member of the Malaysia – America Foundation (MAF), 2014-2017.

 

He received his Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) from the University of Singapore in 1970, his MA from McMaster University in 1971 and his PhD in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977.

 

Prof. Zakaria has taught at the University of Malaya, the Science University of Malaysia, the National University of Singapore, the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and at the University of Ohio (where he held the Tun Abdul Razak Chair, 2000-2003). At UKM, he was Dean of Social Sciences and had also headed Political Science and Strategic Studies.

 

Prof. Zakaria has published extensively on politics and international affairs of Malaysia, ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific.

 

An active sportsperson, he served 6 terms (2005-2018) as a Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM). He was a member of the Council of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for 3 terms, and was President of the Malaysian Gymnastics Federation for 35 years until his retirement in 2013.

 

Professor Zack served in the Askar Wataniah (Territorial Army) and was the Commander of Regt 514 with the rank of Colonel.

 

He is currently an Honorary Captain of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Dr Goh is the CEO for tertiary at the HELP Education Group, overseeing HELP University and HELP Academy. He was the founding CEO for HELP Education Services, which established two international schools in Malaysia, HELP International School, Kuala Lumpur and Crescendo-HELP International School, Johor Bahru.

 

He was also Vice President of HELP University and was the founder and Dean of the Faculty of Behavioral Sciences at HELP University, Kuala Lumpur, which houses one of the largest Psychology programs in South East Asia with over 1,400 full time students. There, he lectured in a variety of areas, including Organizational Psychology, Social Psychology, Research Methodology, Human Motivation, Developmental Psychology and Cognitive Psychology.

 

From 2019 to 2022, he served as Group CEO for the Paramount K12 Education group which has become known as XCL Education, Malaysia which at the time owned and managed Sri KDU Schools, REAL Schools, REAL Kids and Cambridge English for Life.

 

Dr Goh was the treasurer for the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS), the first Asian to ever hold that position, and was the past President for the ASEAN Regional Union of Psychological Societies (ARUPS). He was the past President of the Malaysian Psychological Association (PSIMA) and has also appointed been appointed the Consultant Psychologist for MENSA Malaysia.

 

He obtained his PhD in Psychology from the University of Otago, in New Zealand, where he was conferred the Otago Postgraduate Award. Prior to that he completed a first class honors degree in Psychology also at Otago University.

 

He has served as the project leader for 8 UNICEF projects in Malaysia, including a capacity building project in Tsunami affected communities in Kedah, the development of national child trauma response team, a bully prevention intervention in Malaysian schools and a positive discipline initiative in schools. He is a member of the Ministry of Health’s National Disaster Taskforce for Mental Health that has been commissioned to construct a disaster response protocol for Malaysia. He also headed a research team funded by World Vision to conduct studies on youth psychosocial factors in Timor Leste (East Timor). He has published in the area of memory and eyewitness testimonies among children.

 

He has served as an external consultant and trainer with Shell, Ogilvy and Mather, Petronas, Maxis, MISC, CIMB, Public Mutual, Prudential, Standard Chartered Bank, Digi, Great Eastern, Kraft, Sime Darby, Bank Negara, Prudential, Hitachi, Mimos, Toyota and BASF. His areas of specialization include the application of psychology to change management, talent management, conflict mediation, customer service, people management, stress management, talent management and leadership.

 

He was a columnist for parenting issues for Parenthood Magazine (Malaysia and Singapore), has written regularly for the Star on both corporate and family issues and is a regular contributor for BFM. He has conducted numerous workshops for parents around the country. To date over 5,000 parents have attended his parenting sessions.

 

He has designed and presented courses for the financial service industry for the last 12 years. This includes a program in “EQ (emotional intelligence) for Agents”, for Prudential, a series of programs on “Psychology and Unit Trust” for Public Mutual and a series of workshops on “Psychology and Sales” to CIMB.