Sylvia grew up in a small kampong (village) near Sitiawan Perak. She lived in Teluk Intan for a few years during high school and in Kuala Lumpur when studying at TARC (Tunku Abdul Rahman College). Then, following in many friends’ footsteps, she went to Singapore to earn Singapore dollars for a few years.
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Sylvia first arrived in Australia in 1998 and studied at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Before graduation, she was recruited by a multinational software company, worked for 15 years in the IT and telecommunications sectors, and travelled to many countries. In early 2015, she commenced her career in the education and community services sectors. Sylvia finds joy in helping people and the community.
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Sylvia is married to a research scientist and has a beautiful tween daughter. Each year, Sylvia’s family organises home away from home Chinese New Year gatherings (food, hong bao, CNY snacks, Mahjong, CNY music, Chinese calligraphy etc.) in her house that her friends always look forward to. She enjoys DIY arts and crafts and loves cooking and hanging out with friends. So, together with a few friends, they often organise Malaysia Masak-Masak (cooking) parties to make different types of kuih-muih (Malaysian style desserts).