I work at the Singapore Embassy in Washington, DC. The dsng.net site, though, has existed since I was a college student in 2000, long before I ever became a diplomat. Its contents are entirely personal, and everything I say should be taken as my own views, rather than that of the Embassy or any other organisation. Also, links do not imply endorsement. You can also find my day-to-day thoughts on my Twitter feed.

Work
I am the Political Counsellor at the Singapore Embassy, and handle Congressional liaison work. I also look at defence and security, energy and climate, and other issues. Prior to that, I was Deputy Director (International Organisations) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore, focusing on the United Nations, human rights and development. Before I joined MFA, I was Deputy Director (Climate Change) at the Singaporean Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, where I worked on Singapore's climate change, energy efficiency, and air pollution policies. I also participated in international climate change negotiations.

Education
I hold an A.B. (magna cum laude) in Economics from Harvard, where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2001. My senior thesis was on the way income affects the preferences for living in urban areas. I also delivered linguistics lectures on Dialects of English.

Writing
I wrote for three editions of the budget travel guide Let's Go (Let's Go: Britain and Ireland 1999, Let's Go: London 2001, and Let's Go: New York City 2002), and was the editor of the 2000 edition of Let's Go: Britain and Ireland.

Hobbies and other information
The time in Boston was also the start of my obsession with baseball and the Boston Red Sox. I'm a paid-up member of SABR. Besides that, I'm a crossword, music, film, art, American literature, English language, and trivia buff, a fact which stood me in good stead when I won the "Singapore's Brainiest Scholar" game show in 2003. I also used to do some DJing. My views on Jane Austen were once quoted in The Friendly Jane Austen. I abhor urban legends and conspiracy theories, largely because I think they try too hard to attach order to an entropic world.

Last updated March 2011