How Rose Accidentally Became the Face of MPL Malaysia

Rose never planned to become the face of MPL Malaysia.
In fact, the idea scared her at first.

“I thought I was too stiff,” she says, laughing. “I was scared of the backlash.”

It was February 16, 2022 — her birthday — when fate made the decision for her. While rushing to her birthday brunch, a call from Moonton came. They wanted her as the new host of MPL Malaysia. She said she’d “think about it.” That night, a shoutcaster messaged her with a cheerful “Happy birthday, and congratulations on being part of MPL Malaysia!”

“Sabi ko, ‘I’m already a part of it?!’” Rose bursts into laughter.

The next thing she knew, she was at MPL Media Day, getting prepped for a shoot — no turning back.

Born and raised in Malaysia’s Johor Bahru, which is near the border with Singapore, Rose Gaming, or simply Rose, earned the nickname “The Trilingual Queen” of MPL Malaysia, effortlessly switching between Bahasa, Tagalog, and English on the broadcast.

Rose grew up in a lively household where Tagalog scoldings were an everyday soundtrack. “How did you learn to speak Tagalog when you were raised entirely in Malaysia?” we asked her.

“My mom! Palagi niya akong pinapagalitan in Tagalog!” she recalls, laughing even harder. “I picked up my Tagalog from her scoldings! I feel like if you’re not getting scolded as a kid, you’re either weird as a kid or your mom just doesn’t care about you!”

Her Filipino-Singaporean roots gave her a cultural fluency that became a secret weapon in MPL’s multicultural world. She could slip between languages, understand different crowds, and carry the kind of warm, unpretentious humor that resonates across borders.

It wasn’t just Malaysia that embraced her — it was the entire region.

“As much as there are bashers, which we cannot avoid when we’re in the spotlight, I received a lot of love not just from Malaysia, but from Filipinos and Indonesians too. It’s something I didn’t expect at all,” Rose shares, still sounding a little amazed.

In a scene where fandoms can be fiercely territorial, Rose became a rare unifier — relatable, grounded, and self-aware.

Of course, fame didn’t come without its thorns.

When she fearlessly clapped back against body-shamers during M6 — the world championship for Mobile Legends — some critics called her “unprofessional.” Rose, however, shrugged it off with the nonchalance of someone who had survived far worse. Starting out as one of the very few female gamer-streamers in Malaysia, she would receive comments like,  “girls belong in the kitchen,” or “girls don’t deserve to play games.”

“I get countless of comments like that! So to me, it got to a point like, ‘Okay, whatever,’ you know? You do you, I do me!” Rose told ALL-STAR.

 “I’ve been in this industry a long time. Back then, there were so few girl streamers in Malaysia. So body-shaming, sexist comments — it was endless. I learned how to handle them.”

For her, standing her ground wasn’t drama — it was survival. And somehow, she turned it into comedy. A clapback here, a cheeky comment there. Rose knew the art of picking her battles — and making them entertaining.

When asked what advice she would give to aspiring hosts, she says it simply:

“Always try. Whenever there’s an opportunity that arises, just try. You never know.”

It’s advice that mirrors her own story — from a red carpet attendee with zero hosting experience to the voice, face, and heart of MPL Malaysia.

Maybe that’s what Moonton saw in her all along — not just the streamer who knew everyone in the scene, but someone who understood it. Someone who wasn’t trying to be perfect — just honest, brave, and unapologetically herself.