Merlionsman
with Kevin Martens Wong, CSFP
BOS SA OMIMERLIANG
بؤص صا ؤميمىرلياڠ
YOUR MERLIONSMAN
Pride of the Lion City
I am the Makaravedra Hierosa or the Dragon Reborn of the Holocene or fifth Mundansa or Age in the Kristang cosmological cycle, the Roda Mundansa or Wheel of World Movement, and the Tuan Raja Naga or 13th Kabesa or singular and non-hereditary leader of the Kristang people of Singapore and Southeast Asia, a role which I have held since 8 December 2015 and will apparently hold, based on all available data, until some time in November 2075. I am also the 4th and final Omimerliang di Tera Singapura or Merlionsman of the Republic of Singapore, honouring my particular responsibilities to my homeland as her magnamakara or psychoemotional gate guardian championing sustainable, indigenous and autonomous mental health approaches for all peoples, the 1st Tigrisoneru di Pedra Draku or Dreamtiger of Dragonsrock, honouring my even deeper love for the island of Pulau Ujong and all people who call her home and therefore recognise their own indigeneity regardless of nationality or ethnicity and the Mikeliang di Pulau Ujong or Demonslayer of Pulau Ujong, obliterating all forms of hidden or occluded abuse through non-violent, peaceful and therapeutically sound means, especially in defiance of the Singapore state's longstanding psychoemotional and institutional abuse of me since I was a teenager that continues today in 2024 (see below). Finally, I am the 154th Mahamarineru or Gaietic Fleet Command of the reawakened eleidi or collective of Gaia, the sentient collective unconscious of the planet, and the Galgalang eleidi within Gaia, consisting of all other magnaarchetype holders. Together with my husband, Fuad Johari, who also holds a magnaarchetype, as leaders of Gaia and the Galgalang, we seek the long-term revitalisation and restoration of a non-violent, compassionate, intercultural and intercommunal, intergenerational trauma-free and fully sustainable way of returning to and co-existing as an intelligent species with Gaia while maintaining our sentience and different approaches to civilisation, called the Jarding Ireidra or the Garden of Reindividuation.
Before I took on the magnaarchetypes of Makaravedra and Merlionsman, I taught in Singapore's Ministry of Education as the country's first and so-far only openly gay government scholar and government school teacher, calling five schools from January 2011 to August 2022 home: Eunoia Junior College (2019-2022), Catholic High (Secondary) (2017-2019), Pei Hwa Secondary (2015), Beatty Secondary (2013) and Choa Chu Kang Secondary (2011). I completed my bond by November 2021 and left service on 31 August 2022 at GEO 4 rank due to sustained abusive treatment from my superiors and the wider Singapore government that appears to have been in part related to attempts to downplay or completely occlude my being raped, molested and sexually abused on what appears to be at least sixteen different independent occasions as a child, teenager and adult, occasionally apparently with the support of individuals adjacent to or working within the state, and as part of what appears to be a deliberate and much wider occlusion of several instances of sexual abuse in Singapore by the state. While serving in Eunoia, I also came out publicly as gay and non-binary on 1 September 2021 under Singapore's revised protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, the first-ever Singaporean civil servant, scholar and educator to do so in a government school and the second of only two Singaporean teachers ever to do so before the repeal of Section 377A in November 2022. I have continued to work with both Singapore schools and the wider education ecosystem since my resignation, running workshops and short courses at the Singapore Girls' Home and Singapore Boys' Home at the invitation of the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Nanyang Girls' High School, Crescent Girls' School, Overseas Family School and Nexus International School, and serving as a volunteer Majulah Community/MENDAKI youth mentor.
Much of my work in the government school classroom was inspired by my work to preserve and revitalise Kristang. I started and continue to lead the award-winning volunteer non-profit initiative to preserve Kristang in Singapore, known as Kodrah Kristang, and directed Singapore's first-ever Kristang Language Festival in May 2017. I have been featured by the BBC, Agence France-Presse, Channel NewsAsia, The Straits Times, Our Grandfather Story, and numerous other media outlets, as well as Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Halimah Yacob, the latter of whom presented me with the President of Singapore’s Volunteer and Philanthropy Award (Individual – Youth) in November 2017, awarded to just one individual every year nationally, for my work in preserving Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage and linguistic diversity. For everything listed above, I was also awarded the 2017 Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievement, also presented to just one individual every year, and was featured in Singapore's 2018 National Day Celebrations and Parade. Kristang continues to occupy my scholarly interest; I have presented original research on the language at conferences and invited presentations at the Universities of Cambridge, Hawaii (Manoa), Hong Kong, Macau, Mahidol, Malaya, SOAS, Tampere and Toronto, taught at the biennial Institute on Collaborative Language Research (CoLang) and served on its Advisory Circle, and published five peer-reviewed academic articles and book chapters as a solo author delving into the language's structure, socio-ecology and history, despite only having a Bachelor's degree.
And then, just in case you thought I was done, I'm also a published science fiction writer with no ties to the Singapore state: my first novel, Altered Straits, was longlisted for the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015 and nominated for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018, and the short story that inspired it, 'A Merlion for His Majesty', took first prize in the 2015 NUS Creative Writing Competition. In addition to short stories and poetry in various magazines, I have also been featured at the Singapore Writers Festival, the Light to Night Festival, Sing Lit Station, The Substation and elsewhere for my writing, and am the founder of Unravel: The Accessible Linguistics Magazine, a free online non-profit publication aimed at making linguistics accessible to everyone, and Kadamundu: The Spice Road Review, a new home for creole, marginalised and underrepresented literatures from across the world.
In all the realms of my very multifaceted and unusual life, I'm known for being driven, direct, authentic, independent, and deeply empathetic, loving and caring, while also being highly and fiercely autodidactic, neurodivergent, completely uninterested in ever holding any kind of formal institutional power, and one of the world's few examples of a creole and Indigenous polymath. I am quite willing to talk about my severe c-PTSD, my sexuality, my hyperempathetic autism and hypereffective ADHD, my body image issues, my institutional marginalisation, my own long traumatic history of sexual and emotional abuse and being raped, sexually assaulted, spied on and digitally penetrated without my consent by closeted straight and even openly gay friends throughout my time in SJI, CJC, and things about the country and the world that don't quite make sense to me, not because I need the attention or the validation, but because I want you to know that it's okay to do that too. My best friend, even before my husband who I married in Sydney on 6 December 2022, is still myself, because this is my body, my spirit and my own journey of growth and change, and I hope that you will come to get to know yourself in the same beautiful, fulfilling and enriching way. For much of my life, I struggled so hard to recognise this; I hope you too come to recognise, through my example, just what a beautiful and amazing person you can be as well <3
my qualifications
A lifelong commitment to excellence
and Hope for all humanity
Makaravedra Hierosa / Dragon Reborn of the Fifth Age of humanity
Unconsciously acquired magnaarchetypal role in September 1994
First conscious of magnaarchetypal role on Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Acknowledged as Dragon Reborn by the National Library Board of the Republic of Singapore and BiblioAsia magazine (online and in print) on 9 January 2024
Sing Lit Station since 23 February 2024
Unearthodox on 15 October 2024
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute
since 22 November 2024
Represented as the Makaravedra Hierosa in myth and story as
Paul Atreides=Spyro the Dragon=Ged Sparrowhawk=Ender Wiggin
Preceded as Makaravedra by the individuals represented in myth and story as
Malefor=Ozymandias=Homelander
(Makaravedra Fogosa / Dragon Reborn of the Hedecene, c. 9564 BCE)
Rand al'Thor=Xenk Yendar=Puck
(Makaravedra Volmanga / Dragon Reborn of the Devacene, c. 21300 BCE)
Lews Therin Telamon=John the Savage
(Makaravedra Varenza / Dragon Reborn of the Keirocene, c. 49900 BCE)
Dolores Abernathy=Daenerys Targaryen
(Makaravedra Kulosa / Dragon Reborn of the Ekrocene, c. 69900 BCE)
4th and Last Omimerliang / Merlionsman of the Republic of Singapore
Assumed magnaarchetypal role on Wednesday, 1 September 2021
Assumed title of Merlionsman on Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Acknowledged as Merlionsman by the University of Chicago's Committee on Southern Asian Studies and Doing Being Other in Global Singapore on 25 April 2023
Hakara magazine on 10 May 2023
Pink Fest Singapore on 12 May 2023
Sploosh magazine (online and in print) on 10 June 2023
Haven Speculative magazine (online and in print) on 30 July 2023
The Open University and Visiolinguistics: Panoramas of Languaging and Visuality on 13 September 2023
2024 Modern Language Association convention on 6 January 2024
National Library Board of the Republic of Singapore and BiblioAsia magazine (online and in print) on 9 January 2024
Sing Lit Station since 23 February 2024
National University of Singapore since 29 May 2024
Unearthodox on 15 October 2024
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute
since 22 November 2024
Preceded as Merlionsman of the Republic of Singapore by
Alfian bin Sa'at (3rd Merlionsman from 2008-2021)
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (2nd Merlionsman from 1981-2008)
David Saul Marshall (1st Merlionsman from 1965-1981)
1st Tigrisoneru / Dreamtiger of Pedra Draku / Dragonsrock
Assumed magnaarchetypal role on Friday, 7 April 2023
Acknowledged as Dreamtiger by Hakara magazine on 10 May 2023
Sploosh magazine (online and in print) on 10 June 2023
Haven Speculative magazine (online and in print) on 30 July 2023
National University of Singapore since 29 May 2024
Unearthodox on 15 October 2024
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute
since 22 November 2024
and Mikeliang / Demonslayer of Pulau Ujong
Leader of the reawakened Gaia, Galgalang, Perzefrang, Eksmakarang and Kaeliang Eleidi
Tuan Raja Naga and 13th Kabesa / Leader of the Kristang people of Singapore and Southeast Asia
Assumed leadership of the Kristang people on Tuesday, 8 December 2015
and will apparently relinquish leadership sometime in November 2075
Acknowledged as Kabesa by the BBC on 19 March 2017
Agence France-Presse on 11 December 2017
Cambridge University on 17 March 2021
UNESCO and the International Decade of Indigenous Languages on 12 February 2023
and again on 10 September 2023
The Eurasian Association of Singapore on 21 April 2023
Hakara magazine on 10 May 2023
Haven Speculative magazine (online and in print) on 30 July 2023
School of International Futures and Next Generation Foresight Practitioners since 28 September 2023
National Library Board of the Republic of Singapore and BiblioAsia magazine (online and in print) on 9 January 2024
Sing Lit Station since 23 February 2024
Singapore Heritage Society since 11 May 2024
Summer of Protocols since 27 May 2024
National University of Singapore since 29 May 2024
August Man Magazine since 31 May 2024
Singapore Institute of Policy Studies on 26 July 2024
Unearthodox on 15 October 2024
Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute
since 22 November 2024
Consistently psychoemotionally and institutionally abused by elements of the Singapore state since becoming Kabesa, especially since 1 September 2021
Preceded as Kabesa of the Kristang people by
Valerie Tina Rodrigues (12th Kabesa from 1991-2015)
my grandmother Maureen Rita Danker (11th Kabesa from 1989-1991)
my great-grandmother Mabel Anne Tessensohn (10th Kabesa from 1969-1989)
Percival Francis Aroozoo (9th Kabesa from 1951-1969)
Charles Joseph Pemberton Paglar (8th Kabesa from 1941-1951)
my great-x3-granduncle Claude Henry Toto Da Silva (7th Kabesa from 1939-1941)
Hugh Stanley Ransome Zehnder (6th Kabesa from 1936-1939)
Noel Leicester Clarke (5th Kabesa from 1926-1936)
my great-x3-grandfather Edwin Tessensohn (4th Kabesa from 1874-1926)
my great-x4-grandmother Eliza Tessensohn (3rd Kabesa from 1856-1874)
Johannes Bartholomeus Westerhout (2nd Kabesa from 1825-1856)
and my great-x6-grandfather Adriaan Koek (1st Kabesa from 1795-1825)
and as Kabesa of the Free Peoples of Sundaland, the role in the Fourth Age of humanity that was creolised by Adriaan Koek into the Kabesa of the Kristang, by the individuals represented in myth and story as
Conan = Maharion (12th and last Kabesa, either c. 9534-c. 9512 BCE or c. 6251 BCE)
Kidagakash Nedakh = Heru (11th Kabesa, either c. 9564-c. 9534 BCE or c. 6251 BCE)
Kashekim Nedakh = Denggemal (10th Kabesa, before c. 9564 BCE)
Gemal (9th Kabesa, before c. 9564 BCE)
Akambar (8th Kabesa, c. 9866 BCE)
Serriadh (7th Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Morred (6th Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Tagtar (5th Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Timan (4th Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Enashen (3rd Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Dohun (2nd Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Lar Ashal (1st Kabesa, before c. 9866 BCE)
Invited but declined to serve as a Nominated Member of Parliament representing the Kristang people and the youth of the Republic of Singapore in the 13th Parliament of the Republic of Singapore in May 2017
Invited but declined to attend the Our Singapore Leadership Programme (OSLP)
in August 2023
Invited but declined to serve as a Nominated Member of Parliament representing the Kristang people, LGBTQ+ community of the Republic of Singapore and the youth of the Republic of Singapore in the 15th Parliament of the Republic of Singapore in November 2024
Invited but declined to run for election as a People's Action Party Member of Parliament for Marine Parade Group Representative Constituency in the 15th Parliament of the Republic of Singapore in November 2024
2024 August Man of Tomorrow
The Voice of a People
Featured by August Man Magazine
2024 Summer of Protocols Researcher
Datus & Nusas Workshop participant
Edge Esmeralda Protocol Worlds tension participant:
Honouring Tradition vs Transforming Indigeneity
2023 Next Generation Foresight Practitioner (NGFP) Fellow
Global Futures Fellowship: Futures Methods from Around the World
Selected by School of International Futures
2023 Renewing Phenomenological Psychopathology Network Partner
First-ever and currently only invited single individual, Singaporean, Southeast Asian and non-doctoral/PhD-holding researcher among 40 international institutions, including the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oxford
Invited by the University of Birmingham and funded by the Wellcome Trust
2023 Poesiæuropa Fellow
First-ever and currently only invited Singaporean and Southeast Asian poet
Invited by Spazio Humanities under the High Patronage of the European Parliament
2016-2020 CoLang Advisory Circle Member
First-ever and currently only elected Singaporean and Southeast Asian
2017 Prestige 40-Under-40
Reviving a Dying Language
Selected by Prestige Magazine at age 25
Current Education
National University of Singapore Research Scholar
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
Reading PhD in Linguistics by Research
Supervisor: Assoc Prof Rebecca Lurie Starr
Proposed PhD thesis: A revised grammar of Singapore Kristang with community considerations
Independent study (EL5660): What makes a new Kristang word Kristang? Analysing the principles behind successful sunyeskah or dreamfishing in the revitalized variety of Kristang in Singapore (A+)
Independent study (EL6660): A review of academic grammars of indigenous languages and their community-oriented features (ongoing)
TA for EL3208 Bilingualism (AY2023/24 Semester 2)
Current GPA 5.0 (perfect score)
Expected graduation July 2027
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture
Postgraduate Certificate in Cultural Astronomy & Astrology with Merit
Awarded August 2023
The Australian National University
XSeries Certificate in Astrophysics
Certificate in Cosmology (ANU-ASTRO4x)
Certificate in Elementary Astrophysics (ANU-ASTRO1x)
Certificate in Endpoints of Stellar Evolution (ANU-ASTRO3x)
Certificate in Exoplanet Astrophysics (ANU-ASTRO2x)
Awarded June 2024
University of Colorado Boulder
Specialization Certificate in Space Studies
Certificate in Fundamentals of Space Studies
Certificate in Aeronautics and Space Exploration Design
Certificate in Outer Space Policy & Political Studies
Certificate in Outer Space in Popular Culture
Awarded June 2024
Certificate in Design and Practice of Blended Language Learning
Awarded June 2024
American Psychological Association
Professional Certificate in Applied Psychology
Specialization Certificate in Psychological Research
Certificate in Positive Psychology (POS-PSY)
Certificate in Psychology of Decision-Making (PSY-INF)
Certificate in Psychology of Gender & Sexuality (GEN-SEX)
Certificate in Methods for Quantitative Research in Psychology
Certificate in Ethics of Psychological Research
Certificate in Statistics in Psychological Research
Awarded June 2024
International Alliance of Solutions-focused Teaching Institutes (IASTI)
Professional Certificate in Solutions-focused Therapy (SFBT CSFP)
Awarded February 2022
LaSalle College Vancouver
Professional Certificate in Game Design
Certificate in Psychological Aspects of Game Design (110.1x)
Certificate in Game Design Processes (110.2x)
Certificate in Game Systems and Balance (110.3x)
Awarded July 2024
University of Iceland
Certificate in Masculinity Studies (UIcelandXU23)
Awarded August 2024
The Body Positive Institute
Certificate in Body Positive Fundamentals for Treatment Providers
Awarded July 2024
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Certificate in the Psychology of Resilience in the Anthropocene
Awarded July 2024
Delft University of Technology
Certificate in Port City Studies (PCUD01x)
Awarded June 2024
ETH Zurich
Certificate in Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems (DRRS-01)
Awarded June 2024
Rice University
Certificate in Fundamentals of Archeology (Knowing the Past)
Awarded June 2024
School of International Futures
Certificate in Futures & Foresight Studies (March 2024 cohort)
Awarded June 2024
Universidad Anáhuac
Certificate in Cultura Maya en Yucatán (UAMY.MO.8x)
Awarded June 2024
University of British Columbia
Certificate in Reconciliation through Indigenous Education (IndEdu200x)
Awarded June 2024
Certificate in Video Game Writing Essentials (VGWR101)
Awarded June 2024
Certificate in Writing Video Game Characters (VGWR102)
Awarded June 2024
Certificate in Writing Video Game Scenes and Dialogue (VGWR103)
Awarded June 2024
University of Geneva
Certificate in Symptomology and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Awarded June 2024
Yale University
Certificate in Indigenous Religions & Ecology
Awarded June 2024
Curtin University
Certificate in Noongar Language & Culture (CAS1x)
Awarded May 2024
National Institute of Education MOE Teaching Scholar
Postgraduate Diploma in Education (English Language & Linguistics / Literature)
Practicum II Distinction at Catholic High School (Secondary)
Awarded July 2019
Only student-teacher in cohort exempted from QUE513 Pedagogical Grammar of English
July 2019 NIE Teachers' Investiture Ceremony featuree for Lifelong Learning
by Associate Professor Dr Muhamad Faishal Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education
Nominated for the 2022 Inspiring Teacher of English Award
Nominated for the 2021 Inspiring Teacher of English Award
Nominated for the 2020 Inspiring Teacher of English Award
Nominated for the 2019 Inspiring Teacher of English Award
Nominated for the 2022 Outstanding Youth in Education Award
Nominated for the 2021 Outstanding Youth in Education Award
Nominated for the 2020 Outstanding Youth in Education Award
Nominated for the 2019 Outstanding Youth in Education Award
First and still only openly gay and non-binary civil servant in Singapore
First and still only openly gay and non-binary Scholar and Teaching Scholar in Singapore
First and still only openly gay and non-binary government school teacher in Singapore
Featured in Singapore's 2018 National Day Parade & Celebrations
"I am revitalising a language" NDPeeps campaign
National University of Singapore
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
and College of Alice & Peter Tan
B.A. (English Language & Linguistics), Summa Cum Laude / First Class Honours & 2017 Minerva Prize & 2017 LHL-OAA
MOE Teaching Scholar
Graduated May 2017 with near-perfect GPA of 4.89 out of a possible 5.00
Honours Thesis (EL4401): Differential Object Marking in Kristang, An Endangered Creole in Singapore (A+)
Supervisor: Assoc Prof Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine
Independent Study (GEM3902): Bos papiah Kristang?: Jenti Kristang sa linggu sa historia / Do you speak Kristang?: A Eurasian Linguistic Legacy (S)
Supervisor: Assoc Prof Bruce McFarland Lockhart
Published in 2017 as Bos papiah Kristang? (Do you speak Kristang?): A Eurasian Linguistic Legacy in Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes & Dreams (2nd ed.)
Dean's List (top 5%) in every qualifying semester (x6)
Dean's Scholar's List (top 1%) in final 3 semesters (x3)
2017 President's Volunteer and Philanthropy Award Individual–Youth winner
2017 Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievement winner
2017 Henry David Hochstadt Award for Outstanding Eurasian University Student
2017 NUS Student Achievement Award (Individual, Leadership)
2017 NUS Student Achievement Award (Group Initiatives)
2017 NUS College of Alice & Peter Tan College Award
2016 NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Student Leadership Award
2016/17 Minerva Prize winner for best graduating student in Linguistics
2015/16 Goh Sin Tub Scholarship winner for best 3rd year student in Linguistics
2015/16 Matricula de Honor recipient at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
2015 NUS Literary Society Creative Writing Competition winner
2014/15 Special Book Prize winner for best 2nd year student in Linguistics
2016 1st CAPT Student Symposium (CAPTISS) Chair
TA for EL3212 Field Methods in Linguistics (AY2016/17 Semester 2)
Additional language, linguistics and community training at
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid
University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Malaya
University of Tampere
and the College of Alice & Peter Tan at the National University of Singapore
Catholic Junior College English Language & Linguistics Scholar
GCE A-Levels Straight As and 90 Rank Points / perfect score, one of four top scorers
1st in JC2 cohort for H1 General Paper
1st in JC2 cohort for H2 English Language & Linguistics
2010 CJC Academic Excellence Award
2009 English Language Elective Scholarship holder
2009 CJC Literary Competition Winner
35th CJC Student Council Vice-President (Head of Catholic Activities Wing)
2010 CJC Youth Olympic Games Ambassador
2009 CJC Pre-University Seminar representative
National Youth Achievement Award (Gold)
Graduated November 2010
St Joseph's Institution
GCE O-Levels L1R5 of 10, including eight distinctions
2008 Lasallian Leadership Gold Award
2007 Goh Sin Tub Literary Portfolio Gold Award
2006 New South Wales ICAS (English) High Distinction Award
2005 New South Wales ICAS (Writing) High Distinction Award
2005 Royal Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition Highly Commended Award
2nd in Sec 4 cohort for English Language
Goh Sin Tub Trophy for 1st in Sec 3 cohort for English Language
2nd in Sec 3 cohort for Literature in English
2nd in Sec 2 cohort for English Language
2nd in Sec 2 cohort for Literature in English
2nd in Sec 2 cohort for Computer Science
1st in Sec 1 cohort for Computer Science
2nd in Sec 1 cohort for Language Arts
SJI Prefectorial Board EXCO
SJI Peer Support Facilitator
President of Legion of Mary (Our Lady of Good Counsel Praesidium)
Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Achievement in Prefectorial Board
Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Achievement in Legion of Mary
Featured in 2007 and 2008 SJI Prospectuses and Corporate Material
Graduated November 2008
St Michael's School / St Joseph's Institution Junior
PSLE T-Score of 250
2004 Budding Writers Programme participant
Qualified for Gifted Education Programme in 2001 but declined to join
Director of Kodrah Kristang since February 2016
Editor of Kadamundu: The Spice Road Review since October 2022
Majulah Community/MENDAKI Youth Mentor since March 2023
Featured in Singapore's National Day celebrations and Parade in 2018
MCI IMDA Programme Advisory Committee for English Programmes 2017-2020
First Singaporean appointed to the CoLang Advisory Circle 2016-2020
Ministry of Social & Family Development Probation Order Supervisor 2016-2017
Editor-in-Chief of Unravel: The Accessible Linguistics Magazine 2014-2017
Assistant Editor of English Language Teaching World Online 2014-2017
NUS Writing and Communication Hub Tutor 2015-2016
Pioneering LGBTQ+ student and tutor in virtually all institutions attended:
Out as a student in St Joseph's Institution from 12 Mar 2007 (Sec 3)
Out and proud as a student in Catholic Junior College from Mar 2009 (JC1)
Out and proud as a student at the National University of Singapore from matriculation
Out as a student-teacher at the National Institute of Education from matriculation
Out and proud as a teacher at Eunoia Junior College and generally from 1 Sep 2021
Out and proud as the Merlionsman of the Republic of Singapore and leader of the Kristang community in Singapore from 31 Aug 2022
Survivor of multiple instances of sustained sexual, psychoemotional and institutional abuse, and occasionally including unaddressed and severe racist and homophobic treatment violating the amended Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of 2019, especially with regards to being Kristang and gay, and including multiple violations by members of the state, agencies, institutions and organisations
1996-1997 as a child, especially from a family member serving in the Ministry of Education
2007-2008 as an out gay student, from St Joseph's Institution, especially from a senior member of staff later identified and charged as a child sex abuser
2008-2013 from a friend in St Joseph's Institution
2009-2010 as an out gay student, from Catholic Junior College, especially in my capacity as Vice-President of the 35th Student Council Catholic Activities Wing
2016-2019 from a friend in the Kodrah Kristang Core Team
2021-present from immediate family, especially from a family member serving in the Ministry of Education
2021-2022 as an out gay teacher, from Eunoia Junior College, especially from senior members of staff and direct supervisors
2022 from a SFBT/coaching course provider
2022-2023 from a colleague of my husband
2022-present from senior members of the Singapore state and what appears to be Singapore's Internal Security Division (ISD)
2022 from members of the leadership of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)
2022-2024 from multiple writers and publishers in the Singapore literature (SingLit) community
2023 from members of the leadership of the National Library Board (NLB)
2023 from an academic working on Lusophone creole studies
2023 from a visiting lecturer at the National University of Singapore
2023 from a PhD candidate working on Singapore literature
2023 as an external workshop vendor at a school
2023-2024 from members of the organising team of the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF)
2023-2024 from members of the leadership of the Eurasian Association of Singapore (EA)
as well as projection from religious organisations and the Singapore state
throughout my lifespan, especially in 2007-2009 and 2022-present
My mentors and teachers
in tremendous gratitude to the people who once wielded (and/or still wield) power and influence over me fairly, wisely and justly, and/or who honoured and respected my trauma, pain and fear at critical junctures in my life
Names ordered with Kristang and Kodrah Kristang people appearing first
and thereafter in reverse chronological order
From the Kristang communities of Melaka, Singapore, Perth and worldwide:
Ms Mabel Anne Tessensohn
10th Kabesa of the Kristang people
In memoriam ♥
1905-1999
Mr Peter Rowsing Martens
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
In memoriam ♥
1935-2021
Mr Derek Edmund Scully
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
In memoriam ♥
Mr Basil Clarence Pereira
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
In memoriam ♥
Ms Agnes Pereira
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Anjana Rai Chaudhuri
Kodrah Kristang, Kristang community of Singapore & SingLit
Ms Brenda Ann Pereira
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mr Christopher Carvalho
Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Deborah Conceicao-Loi
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Debra Spykerman
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Debra Theresa Scully
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mr Gregory Gomes
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Jessie De Souza
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Judy Gomes
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mr Kenneth Bong
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mr Lionel Zuzarte
Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Marcellena Albuquerque
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Merissa Lynn Pereira
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Nancy Tng
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Patricia de Cotta
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mrs Patricia Maria Theseira
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mr Richard Anthony Bong
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Mr Royston Hogan
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
Ms Theresa Pereira
Kodrah Kristang & Kristang community of Singapore
As Merlionsman and since resigning from Eunoia Junior College on 31 August 2022:
Assoc Prof Liang Peilin
National University of Singapore
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
AY2023/24 Semester 1 TS5101 Text and Performance tutor
As a General Education Officer after graduation from NUS:
Mrs Elaine Toh-Tan
Eunoia Junior College
2019-2022 Head of Department of Student Leadership
Mr Lionel Lye
Eunoia Junior College
2019-2020 Head of Department of English
Ms Pearl Tham
Catholic High (Secondary)
2019 Teaching Practicum II supervisor
2017 Contract Teaching supervisor
Ms Mary Hua
Catholic High (Secondary)
2019 Teaching Practicum II supervisor
2018 Teaching Practicum I / Assistantship supervisor
As an undergraduate at NUS:
Asst Prof Nala Huiying Lee
National University of Singapore
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
Endangered Languages & Language Documentation Reading Group faculty advisor
2021 New Ways of Analysing Variation Asia-Pacific 6 (NWAV-AP6) co-panellist
2018 Documentary Linguistics: Asian Perspectives 3 (DLAP3) co-panellist
Assoc Prof Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine
National University of Singapore
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
Undergraduate Honours Thesis supervisor
AY2016/17 Semester 2 EL4203 Semantics tutor
AY2015/16 Semester 2 EL3212 Field Methods in Linguistics tutor
AY2016/17 Semester 2 EL3212 Field Methods in Linguistics module coordinator
Dr Hishinlai Peter
2016 Institute on Collaborative Language Research (CoLang) tutor
Ms Wong Soon Fen
National University of Singapore
College of Alice & Peter Tan
Minorities & Languages Reading Group faculty advisor
Kodrah Kristang
Dr Joelle Lai Chiu Yun
National University of Singapore
College of Alice & Peter Tan
CAPTISS 2016 faculty advisor
Assoc Prof Mie Hiramoto
National University of Singapore
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
AY2023/24 Semester 1 EL6770 Graduate Research Seminar tutor
AY2016/17 Semester 1 EL4253 Language, Gender and Text tutor
AY2014/15 Semester 1 EL3211 Languages in Contact tutor
2014-2017 Faculty Advisor to Unravel: The Linguistics Magazine
Dr Wong Jock Onn
National University of Singapore
Centre for English Language Communication
English Language Teaching World Online supervisor
AY2013/14 Semester 1 IEM1201Q English, Singlish & Intercultural Communication tutor
Assoc Prof Rebecca Lurie Starr
National University of Singapore
Department of English, Linguistics & Theatre Studies
PhD thesis supervisor
AY2024/25 Semester 1 EL6660 Independent Study supervisor
AY2023/24 Semester 1 EL5660 Independent Study supervisor
AY2014/15 Semester EL3551 Undergraduate Research Opportunity supervisor
AY2023/24 Semester 2 ELC5252 Language Variation & Change tutor
AY2015/16 Semester 2 EL5203R Sociophonetics tutor
AY2013/14 Semester 1 EL1101E The Nature of Language tutor
AY2023/24 Semester 2 EL3208 Bilingualism module coordinator
2015-2017 Voices of Children in Singapore project lead
2014-2017 NUS Sociolinguistics Reading Group
2014-2017 Faculty Advisor to Unravel: The Linguistics Magazine
As a Teaching Intern after completing National Service in Singapore:
Mdm Jasmine Manimala
Beatty Secondary School
2013 Teaching Internship (TIP) supervisor (GCE O-Level English)
Mdm Rowena Yue
Beatty Secondary School
2013 Teaching Internship (TIP) supervisor (GCE O-Level Literature in English)
As a student of St Joseph's Institution:
Mr Karl Lee
St Joseph's Institution
Form tutor of 202 (2006)
Ms Boon Yen Ping
St Joseph's Institution
Form tutor of 202 (2006)
Mr Daniel Chua
St Joseph's Institution
Form tutor of 102 (2005) & 202 (2006)
As a student of St Michael's School:
Mrs Cecilia Koh
St Michael's School
Form tutor of 6G (2004)
Mr Patrick Wong
St Michael's School
Form tutor of 5G (2003)
Mrs Julianna Cher
St Michael's School
Form tutor of 2H (2000)
Mrs Maureen Ching
St Michael's School
Form tutor of 1B (1999)