Khoo Salma Nasution is a fifth generation Straits Chinese (Baba Nyonya). She was installed into the Nasution clan in 1994. Her 'Mandailing father' is Dr. Rizali H. Nasution, one of the founders of Sumatra Heritage Trust (Badan Warisan Sumatra).

She is the author of Streets of George Town, Penang (1993); More Than Merchants, A History of the German-speaking Community in Penang, 1800s-1940s (2006), co-author of Penang Postcard Collection, (2003) and Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia's Modern Development, (2004).

She was Honorary Secretary of the Penang Heritage Trust for 14 years. In 1993, she served as project manager of Syed Alatas Mansion restoration and privately undertook the restoration of the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Penang Base at 120 Armenian Street.

She was coordinator of the Sustainable Penang Initiative 1997-1999 which promoted consultations towards sustainable development. She convened two conferences, The Penang Story Conference, 2002 and the Shared Histories Conference 2003. In 2004, she was awarded a fellowship by the Nippon Foundation under the Asian Public Intellectual (API) programme. Her new website is www.lestariheritage.net