Getting It Strait is an online journal that publishes works on youth culture and current affairs. We look for a wide variety of English submissions—essays, short stories, poetry, articles, illustrations, just to name a few—anything that presents your perspective for the benefit of society at large. As a collective, we strive to empower voices and connect people beyond geographical “straits” in the pursuit of social justice and creative exploration.
The Team
Ryan Wong: Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Wong is an incoming freshman at Wesleyan University presently based in Penang, Malaysia. He loves homemade dumplings and poetry, and cannot be trusted by himself inside bakeries.
Justin Teoh: Managing Editor
Justin Teoh is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill double-majoring in public policy and comparative literature. He enjoys DJ-ing for the college’s radio station and trying to comprehend great texts. He (mentally) resides in Penang, Malaysia.
Allison Lee: Managing Editor
When her fingers aren’t flickering past the keyboard, Allison can be found songwriting, binging TV shows, or making a mean cup of chocolate. She writes when she’s upset, reads when she’s bored, and is the happiest when she has a slice of pizza in her hand. She is currently pursuing Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Manchester.
Joey Yap: Website Manager
Joey Yap is a computer science major and a rising sophomore at the University of Southern California. He currently lives in Penang, Malaysia.
Han-Jo Tan: Social Media Manager
Han-Jo Tan is starting her first year at Kingston University London to further explore the concept of design. She enjoys the small moments in life (in other words: over-romanticizing it) and can be easily made happy with good food, especially from her hometown, Penang.
Kien-Ling Liem: Creative Director
Kien-Ling Liem (she/they) is a student at the University of Melbourne. She enjoys writing, creating art in her spare time and is an avid feminist. When stressed out, she wanders around in art galleries as a form of therapy. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Tsen Ee Lin: In-House Content Creator
After running around Penang as a photojournalist for Free Malaysia Today, Ee Lin has met all kinds of personalities and told more stories than she can count. She’s found fulfilment in capturing others’ truths and sharing real human connections, but now heads to Santa Monica to share more stories through filmmaking. Caffeine gives her spinning headaches, but Ee Lin will happily chug down a matcha latte any day.
Sydney Gan: In-House Content Creator
Sydney Gan is currently studying for a law degree at King’s College London. She can be found writing unfinished novels and indulging in true crime documentaries when time allows it.
Madeline Lee: In-House Content Creator
Born and raised in Sarawak, Mad (they/them) is a multimedia storyteller illuminating suppressed narratives from the past, present, and future.
S. Swea: In-House Content Creator
Swea is a contributing writer to GIS. They are a student artist, poet and writer of fiction and nonfiction alike presently based in Penang, Malaysia.
Elisa Redza: In-House Content Creator
Elisa has not gone a single day without reading for years. She’s currently contemplating if she should collect all the editions of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. She stars text messages from her friends and journals about her day because she’s scared of forgetting the small moments in life. Art covers 70% of her bedroom walls and she has a small collection of dinosaur figures.
Oliver Dimitri: In-House Content Creator
Oliver is currently in college to eventually major in Creative Writing. His passions are writing stories, poems and blog posts; reading mainstream and underrated novels; and scheduling his life based on new shows and movies playing that weekend.
Liem Kien Ting: In-House Content Creator
Liem Kien Ting is a 14-year-old born and still living in Penang. She is currently starting IGCSE in Uplands International School. Her hobbies include reading, crocheting, and binging TV shows.
Kaya: In-House Content Creator
Kaya is an IB student who grew up in Penang but is currently based in Bangkok. She loves stuffed animals, Nutella, and analyzing creative works. Her favorite novel is Crime and Punishment and she squeals at the sight of cats.
Melissa Lee: In-House Content Creator
Melissa is a Sarawakian soul who’s currently pursuing the study of the human brain. Outside of academics, she enjoys the company of her friends, nature, and the fellow cats lingering in her dorm hallway.
Arnita Tasnim: In-House Content Creator
Arnita is an A-Levels student at Taylor’s College. She is often found engrossed in fantasy novels, curled up watching a sitcom or scribbling away on her notebook to pass the time.
Kathleen “Lin” Lang: In-House Content Creator
If train-wreck is a person, Lin would be it. Lin is an accident-prone, clueless and sometimes bug attack victim who is trying to save the animals while also spreading as much love as they can through their writing. If you ever see a sun bear, Lin is probably already there trying to get close to it.
Isa Walker: In-House Content Creator
The sustainment of peace, a strive for international equilibrium and welfare. An idealism distant from the grasp of today’s society, forgotten amongst the clutter of conflict and injustice, but not impossible to obtain. Hence it must start with a voice. As an aspiring journalist, Isa wants to use hers as a vessel to strive towards this ideal, by which it starts on a tiny laptop, on the tiny island of Penang.
Kayleigh Tiodianco: In-House Content Creator
Kayleigh Tiodianco is a high school student based in Cebu, Philippines. She loves indulging herself with mystery thrillers and fiction. In her free time, she enjoys fiddling with her camera looking for fun subjects.
Rhowan Ho: Social Media Coordinator & In-House Illustrator
Rhowan just really likes making things, digital or physical, from landscapes to cosplay. Which is why there’s a Chainsaw Man head sitting on a shelf behind him right now.
Jordynn Lam: In-House Illustrator
Jordynn (he/they) is currently pursuing a Fine Arts Diploma in The One Academy KL. He’s always busy completing art assignments in the day and busting out showtunes with the local musical theatre community at night. If not, he’s either running about looking for scented candles or hiding in a Starbucks and making another Spotify playlist.
Alan Anderson: Website Administrator
Alan is a freelance content writer based in Penang, Malaysia. When outside of work, he ventures into new cafés and restaurants around George Town.