Sarafian Salleh is a heritage activist engaged in reviving Bugis traditions. He is a passionate researcher of local history and is the president of the Bugis Malay Society Singapore. An engineering consultant by profession, his interest in studying the history of the Malay World began when he was a teen in 1985.
His passion intensified when he started constructing his family tree and wanted to learn more about his Bugis ancestors. In 2008, he started a social media group called Bugis Temasek which has attracted a large following of those who wish to make Bugis culture relevant to Singapore’s national identity. His extensive research and knowledge about the Bugis community in Singapore has led to him being honorifically called Tuah Bugis on social media.

With his support, in 2017, the Malay Heritage Centre hosted an exhibition of Bugis culture, Sirri Na Pesse, which loosely translates to ‘Honour and Pride’ in the Bugis language. It ran for eight months and featured the history and development of the Malay-Bugis community in Singapore since the 18th century.

Over the last two decades, Sarafian has been photographing and documenting various Malay holy sites and cemeteries throughout Singapore and has accumulated a large body of historical material about these sites. In 2013, he began organising heritage walks as a means of promoting awareness and appreciation of Singapore history. Sarafian continues to conduct public talks and heritage walks for schools, universities, societies and government organisations. He is a licensed STB tour guide, a member of the Institute of Engineers Singapore and a Life member of the Genealogy Society Singapore. He has run his own engineering consulting firm, Diagnoveritas Pte Ltd, for the last 18 years.