Our core team members are the driving force of the organisation, embodying our organisational values and advancing our ambition of ensuring freedom of expression for all peoples in Malaysia.
Our People
Knowledge and Rights with Young people through Safer Spaces (KRYSS) is an organisation that works with young people on the issues of freedom of opinion and expression with a gender lens.
Core Team Members
Angela M. Kuga Thas
Partner-Director
With a 30-year background in promoting human rights, both nationally and internationally, Angela has profound knowledge and expertise gained from her diverse work experiences and networking with human rights advocates. Her areas of focus include gender and information and communication technologies; sexual and reproductive health and rights; women’s rights and the CEDAW Convention; human rights based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression; poverty alleviation; HIV and AIDS; social entrepreneurship; and women’s political equality. Angela is passionate about developing counter narratives to advance freedom of expression for vulnerable and marganisalise groups. Her skills encompass project management, gender evaluation, program assessment, qualitative research, and training, with a focus on gender and digital storytelling.
Serene Lim
Partner-Director
Serene is a lawyer with experience in human right’s work, primarily in the field of gender equality and internet rights. Her expertise lies in championing and safeguarding online freedom of opinion and expression while addressing the intricate challenges of combating online gender-based violence and advancing digital rights within legislative frameworks in Malaysia. Drawing from her background in research and experience in human rights organisations, Serene firmly believes that dismantling oppression and upholding democracy necessitate transformative change across various spheres such as the law, politics, culture, beliefs, technology, business, and education.
Jananie Chandrarao
Research and Documentation Officer
Jananie is a Psychology graduate with an interest in advocacy surrounding mental health and gender equality. During her university days, she has organised and moderated multiple forums, creating awareness about social issues. This drive led her to conduct her final year research on Intimate Partner Violence. Her roles and responsibilities in KRYSS Network include monitoring, and documenting online gender-based violence cases, developing research and case studies on the topics of freedom of opinion and expression, hate speech and online gender-based violence and actively contribute to our advocacy towards the elimination of hate spech and online gender-based violence. Beyond her role at KRYSS Network, Jananie is a freelance writer who enjoys engaging in conversations about real-life struggles as she believes vulnerability brings us closer together.
JL
Communication and Media Officer
JL is a journalism graduate who is passionate about women’s rights and youth empowerment. During her tenure at Taylor’s University’s Girl Up (now rebranded as “Dia:Them”), she organised diverse initiatives that were aimed at fostering gender equality on campus. One of them being “Read At Home: The Gadis Chapter”, a campaign in collaboration with MYReaders to empower young girls through storytelling and to promote child literacy, was featured on Bernama TV’s “Tea with Tehmina”. As one of the founding committee members of Parliwomen, a Malaysian youth initiative to encourage women political participation, she designed and pioneered “Camp Politik”, which featured a series of workshops equipping aspiring young women politicians with civic education and soft skills to thrive in the political field. As the Communication and Media Officer at KRYSS Network, JL leads the organisation’s communication strategy, managing content creation, social media and campaigns.
Ruhaishah
Communication and Media Officer
Ruhaishah is a Governance & Public Policy graduate from a local university, whose ambition is to write a fictional novel that amplifies the voices of marginalised groups. A strong believer in social justice through reforms, Ruhaishah has been involved in community work, journalism and even politics to help her grasp a better understanding of the system from the grassroots level. Ruhaishah was one of the individuals involved in running a program called Women in Power founded by YB Amira Aisya, an initiative aimed to provide a safe space for young women to take up leadership roles. With the knowledge she has gained and a strong determination, Ruhaishah hopes that she can continue to contribute her best to making the world a better place for every single person, regardless of their gender, race, belief or sexual orientation.
Abdullah Nishad
Advocacy and Outreach Officer
Abdullah is currently pursuing his Master of Public Policy at University of Malaya. He is a firm believer in the upliftment of marginalised communities. Prior to joining KRYSS Network, he has worked with organisations such as Teach for Malaysia, the United Nations Development Programme, the Centre for Governance & Political Studies and KPMG Malaysia. During his time at Teach for Malaysia where he served at an Orang Asli community in Perak, he saw the inequalities that were faced by the community and felt there was a need for policy itnerventions that are actually implemented on-the-ground. Abdullah is passionate about social policy and strongly advocates for the participation of youth in policy and advocacy.
PEER ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE
Fashioned after the idea behind “The Knights of the Roundtable”, our peer accountability committee plays a crucial role in institutionalising and reinforcing a collective and peer-led approach to accountability and transparency within KRYSS Network. Through their contributions, we foster a culture of openness and responsible practices, ensuring our organisation operates with integrity and effectiveness in achieving our mission.
Thency Gunasekaran
(2022-Present)
With 18 years of experience as a facilitator, Thency has facilitated and held space on a range of subjects such as the prevention of child sexual abuse, child rights and protection, sexual gender-based violence, politicisation of ethnicity and religion, feminism, human rights, gender equality and unpacking patriarchy. Thency is a passionate advocate for the rights of children and young people to be unapologetically themselves, free from fear and harm. She works with children, young people and adults to create a safe environment where children can be their authentic selves. By promoting awareness, unlearning harmful beliefs, and embracing the concept of rights, consent, and personal boundaries, she endeavors to help individuals live their lives authentically and fearlessly.
Mei
(2022-Present)
Mei is a data and insights expert in the corporate world, driven by a passion for advocacy and activism. In the past, she has volunteered for the Women’s March movement and KRYSS Network’s gender-based violence initiatives. As an ally to the LGBTQ community, Mei wants to use her presence and voice to create spaces, both virtual and offline, amplifying the collective voices and visibility of marginalised groups. Mei remains committed to deepening her involvement and learning in the activism space as she embraces her queerverse journey and contribute to combating discrimination and dehumanisation faced by queer individuals.
Jam Lim
(2018-Present)
A communications specialist of over 10 years with a passion for science and technology, Jam Lim is the former editor of regional business tech publication Tech Wire Asia. Their interests lie in the intersectionality of tech and business with ethics, morality, and its economic/social impact on people, especially marginalised and underdeveloped communities. While at Tech Wire Asia, they covered news related to fintech, green and sustainable tech, e-Commerce, and cybersecurity, among others. Jam’s key interests lie in social justice, human rights, and women’s rights and empowerment. They are currently heading a consultancy providing media and communications services.
Dorian Wilde
(2018-2021)
Dorian Wilde is a human rights advocate, working with other marginalised people to forward gender and sexual diversity education and rights. He is the founder of Transmen of Malaysia and a core member of Justice for Sisters. He is also the Outreach, Volunteerism, and Advocacy executive at Taylor’s University. He runs Taylor’s Speaker’s Corner, a brave, conducive space encouraging participants to share and listen to lived realities, ideas, discussions, debates, and talents. He is particularly interested in the intersections of gender and sexuality with climate change, healthcare, faith, politics, philosophy and many others.
Melissa Mohd. Akhir
(2018-2021)
Melissa is the co-founder of Kemban Kolektif, a Malaysia-based feminist project consultancy who previously worked in Women’s Aid Organisation as a training officer. Melissa holds an advanced L.L.M. in International Children’s Rights from Leiden University, Holland. She actively participated in the Beijing +20 Forum on women’s rights in Southeast Asia with the Asia Pacific Women in Law & Development. Melissa also served as a resource person for IWRAW Asia Pacific at the “Experts Meeting on Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Shelters” with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women at the London School of Economics. Nationally, she held the position of Senior Advocacy Officer at Women’s Centre for Change for 6 years, conducting training for over 100 Malaysian judges, magistrates, Deputy Public Prosecutors, court interpreters, police, and social welfare officers on child victim’s rights, sexual crime cases, and domestic violence in line with Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and Convention on the Rights of the Child.