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Chat with Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Khoo Ying Hooi

Senior Lecturer
Department of International and Strategic Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Q Dr. Khoo, can you share some information regarding the background of the
Malaysian Journal of International Relations?
A The Department of International and Strategic Studies first launched the MJIR in 2013. We are one of the few
local journals in Malaysia that focus on the IR discipline. We have just recently released our Vol.8, 2020. It is an
open-access, peer-reviewed journal published annually by the department.
Q Can you share when were you appointed as Editor-in-Chief and how you felt
with the appointment?
A I was appointed as the Editor-in-Chief in 2018, taking over from Associate Prof. Dr Jatswan Singh. It is an eye-
opening position and it comes with a lot of challenges as it is a competitive "industry". Nevertheless, I have enjoyed
the process as it is a learning path and I see it as an opportunity to provide an alternative to scholars including
students to get their works published.
Q
How diverse is your Editorial Board?

A Our International Advisory Board consists of 11 members, and they come from 7 different countries:
UK, US, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Germany.
Q
What are the indexing/abstracting that the Journal is included in?
A
Currently, the MJIR is indexed/ abstracted in MyCite, Crossref, DOAJ and ROAD.
Q
What are the main themes covered by your Journal?
A The MJIR welcomes contributions related to international relations, foreign policy, diplomacy, political science,
international political economy, strategic and security studies, and related fields. In particular, the journal welcomes
manuscripts with a focus on international relations in the Asia-Pacific.
Q
How long it takes for a manuscript to be published?
A The MJIR is published annually every December. We normally take around 3-6 months from the review until
the acceptance process.
Q
Are you facing any challenges currently? What are those?
There are few challenges and throughout my conversation with other journal editors especially local journal editors, the
A pattern of challenges that we face are rather similar. For instance, the challenge of getting submission especially when the
MJIR is currently still working on obtaining more indexing. But over time, we have received more submission as we
embarked on the publicity strategy to popularise the journal. We also face challenges to obtain quality manuscripts and to
secure reviewers. As it is a department-run journal, we also face challenge in term of the manpower issue.
Q What are the plans that you have for the Malaysian Journal of
International Relations?
A We are currently intensifying our reach by engaging more with our International Advisory Board. Also to continue our
publicity strategy through social media, as well as to get the journal to be indexed in ESCI/ Scopus in the near future.
Q Any advice you would like to give to those interested to submit manuscripts to
the Malaysian Journal of International Relations?
A Please always check the author guidelines before sending to the journal, and to ensure your manuscript fits

into our journal scope.

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