All Reviews

9 weeks

RM 1500

Each minister was assigned 2 mentees. We were tasked to accompany/assist the Minister in whatever way possible.It ranged from drafting answers to questions raised by other parliamentarians to being present in Board/Post cabinet meetings/ Consultation forums. We also went down to YB Nancy's constituency in Sarawak to observe how Politicians operate on a weekly basis. The job scope is quite flexible but immensely helpful for one's understanding of the public sector and ministerial duties. When I first got into the office, I was also mentored by Encik Syazwan, one of YB Nancy's special officers. I was introduced to the world of law making, Parliamentary Diplomacy and the drafting of answers for YB to use in Parliament. I was stationed in Parliament for the first few weeks accompanying/assisting YB when she was summoned to whip for the government.

This program surpassed my initial expectations! At first I was under this belief that I'll only be a coffee boy, but my first day of interning already dispelled all of that. I was invited to a law reform session in which i saw how law making/consulting was done. I had a long chat with YB pertaining to Malaysian politics and the involvement of the youths. This internship has assisted me in dispelling a myriad of stereotypes placed upon our civil service. It's untrue when people purport that they're lazy, unmotivated and leeches of society. In reality, they're hard working and at times would even exit office at 9 P.M to serve us, members of the community. YB Nancy and her staff rarely exit office before 5 P.M, they'll always have an event/work to attend to. When they're free, they'll still take some time to mentor us on Public Policy. I'm humbled by their sheer effort and willingness to assist a random Johorean boy even when they're busy. I have had the privilege to have a first-hand experience on Law making, Public Diplomacy, Networking etc. These are all invaluable skills which I'll most probably use in the future.

My mentors actively involved me. I was very privileged to be placed under the tutelage of YB Nancy Shukri. Prior to our first meeting, I thought I'll most probably end up sitting idly at one random corner of the office due to her busy schedule but I was wrong. She'll always call us into her office to give personal tutoring on pertinent current issues. These sessions aren't the typical 'empty talk' sessions which we'll commonly hear at our mamak restaurants, these are actually matter-filled, info-heavy sessions which benefited me massively! The topics ranged from the controversial Emergency Ordinance to role of youths in the virtual world. YB Nancy is by far one of the most hardworking intellectuals I've met. She spends more time working than visiting her family back in Sarawak. I met YB's son (Farouk). He told me that his mum is always engrossed with work. Even when she's back in Sarawak, most of her time will be spent serving the needs of her constituency. This is a testament to her "People First" attitude. When YB is preoccupied with work, her SUSK(Setiusaha Sulit Kanan) Mr. Manmeed will take up the helm by bringing us to pivotal sessions like the Law Reform Committee meeting. He'll also personally tutor us with his in-depth experience of the public sector.

Two constructive criticisms I would offer: 1) Relationship of trust should be established. When I first entered, I was barred from entering a couple of high-profiled meetings due to my sudden entrance to the ministry. This have taken away invaluable learning opportunities. I do acknowledge that I'm new, but it does not mean that I'm incapable and untrustworthy on the basis of my age/experience. The selection process and the signing of the Official Secrets act should cover this. If this program is to truly groom future leaders, the element of trust should be injected from the inception itself. Some of the Opposition members in Parliament didn't make our lives any easier by claiming that, "approximately half of us (fellows) are opposition spies", thus making the government more insular. 2. A more structured internship. I acknowledge the need for flexibility as our schedule is often contingent on the minister's schedule, but that does not mean that a schedule shouldn't even be drafted. This is problematic if one's mentor is rarely in office. This means the mentee will be left alone without any meaningful work to accomplish. I have heard that some fellows went through this dry-spell. I'm lucky enough to get YB Nancy as my mentor. For those who didn't, they deserved something to fall back on.

I genuinely think that this internship is for all Malaysians who aspire to know more about Malaysia's Public Policy. Anyone can benefit from this program.

4 weeks

RM 200

"The internship programme at ZICO is very different from what you'd expect or understand of legal internships. It's actually called the Structured Attachment Programme (SAP) and is the only one of its kind among Malaysian law firms, which probably explains why it also operates on a very selective basis. We were told that only 18 people were picked from a number of 120 applicants. The SAP has been running for 8 years now, and it includes tasks, projects, day trips (to Parliament, Legal Aid Centre, Bar Council) and lectures. All of these are spread out over 20 days and laid out in a schedule, so you pretty much know what to expect day to day. But it still retains its flexibility because the activities aren't set in stone, they can be shifted around when the need arises. The 18 of us are split up into 4 groups, and each group has its own set of 2 partners and a few trainee associates who oversee, help and guide you. You develop very close relationships with your group because you spend a lot of time and rely on each other as most of the work is group-centric. At the end of the internship, there will be a competition between groups. There are several categories in terms of what you have to do and the judges are senior partners so it was all very thrilling, but I won't divulge further. There is also a farewell dinner, with its own little surprises. So there's plenty of fun throughout the internship. "

"The internship generally met my expectations. It faltered on several points, such as lack of live experience and very little attention and supervision by the assigned group mentors but overall, it was a fantastic experience. Reviews are held everyday and delivered by interns named in the schedule, so each of us have a chance to speak about our day and the internship as a whole. Criticisms and compliments were given, and the programme was constantly evolving according to those comments, so it's a fascinatingly organic process. I didn't have a particular mentor, because we completed tasks and projects in various departments, and our group mentors weren't very involved so I can't say that it was crucial. But it definitely leaves an impression on you based on whether or not relationships and connections are built with the partners, associates and trainee associates you encounter, not necessarily work with. What you gain from the SAP is you really learn what ZICO is as a firm, including its people and its culture. They are an incredibly friendly and approachable firm. Another major thing you take away from the SAP is how the Malaysian legal arena is, including the legal profession and its relationship with the political framework of the country and the ASEAN legal industry. "

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This internship is definitely suited for Malaysian law students, but it's also geared towards Malaysian non-law students who are considering entering the Malaysia legal profession. ZICO has a lot going for it in terms of reputation and recognition among Malaysian law students. Many students ooh and aah when they hear its name. But the best way to really understand whether or not the hype and the glitz about ZICO is true and deservedly so is to get yourself plugged into the firm for a period of time and find out for yourself. Don't just take what you hear as a given fact. So if you're wondering about what ZICO is like (being Malaysia's largest firm) and if like me, you're trying to decide if you want to return to practice in Malaysia and where to ply your trade if you do, then the SAP will help you collate more information to make up your mind.

8 weeks

RM 450

There was no fixed internship structure as we (there was another intern besides me) were the first two interns for this specific section of the paper - #edGY - the rather new Gen Y pullout. Still, we were allowed to be very hands on and jump straight to working. We got out first assignments on the second day and were allowed to interview (through email), frame and write the articles ourselves with guidance from our editors. In the consequent week, I shadowed my colleagues twice on their interviews, and I volunteered to transcribe both the interviews. During this period all of my assignments were by email interview only (which means questions can be checked by editor prior to emailing) but after shadowing, I was allowed to arrange and conduct face-to-face interviews myself. Besides interviews, I had to conduct research to write most of my articles - statistics, quotes and cross-referencing information were the basis of 80% of my published articles. Every week, we had a team meeting in which we would pitch our article ideas to our supervisor. In these meetings, which were informal anyway, I was treated like a staff member and my ideas were given due consideration. On Wednesday, the designers were supposed to get back to us with the finished page for us to QC, so our work hours were slightly longer. Articles were submitted through email beforehand for editing.

The internship exceeded expectations, but I didn't have high expectations to begin with after hearing so many internship-horror stories from friends and relatives. I liked the fact that my supervisors and editors trusted me to write publishable articles, and they gave me some very interesting assignments during my internship. One of my assignments was to interview the CEO of Asia's biggest sports media company, Victor Cui from ONE FC. I would say that the internship gave me a great insight into the print and journalism industry. The shadowing gave me some perspective on how to frame an interview around the business aspect of things, something which I didn't do in school-level journalism. I learnt how to write my articles in the correct style for a professional newspaper. I learnt how to secure interviews, find new contacts, research information, and to identify new scoops. Basically, I learnt what goes into the production of a newspaper - a lot of work. I don't plan to go into the industry once I graduate (based on preference, not this internship), but this experience has definitely shown me the importance of a good networking system and having a good relationship with the local newspaper. I also find that a high standard of english is respected in any industry.

My mentors actively involved me, ensured I gained from the internship and made up for lack of structure with active improvisation. My supervisor(s) really made my internship a quality experience. The HR head made an effort to establish a rapport between me and the rest of the office even though I was only interning for 8 weeks. She personally brought me around to meet and greet the staff and the bosses, and visited my desk once a week to check that things were okay. My supervisor/chief editor really went all out to ensure that I was learning throughout my internship. She frequently gave feedback, good and bad, on my performance, and made it a point to take me and the other intern out for lunch every other week. During lunches, she would review our performance and offer us tips and advice relevant to the job. She made sure that we were comfortable and on our last day on the job, gave us an overall performance review as well as arranged for a staff lunch with our colleagues. She was also lenient about leave-taking (considering that this internship was during the CNY period) and was very flexible about my hours. I was given due credit for every article that I wrote, even though they went through editing (at times heavy, at times light) my articles were always published with my name only.

Staff members had a 'lunch card' for the cafe downstairs, but the interns weren't provided with one and had to pay for their own meals. Albeit cheap ones, but we had to pay for them. There were times where I had nothing to work on as my assignments were finished for the week. However, I don't blame my supervisors as it is hard to standardize the assignments that you give to the interns. For example, I was given around 1 assignment a week, whereas the other intern, who worked at a slower pace, was given around 1 assignment every two weeks.

Working at The Edge, at any section, is a great way to merge knowledge of commerce with an interest in journalism or writing. There's something for everyone - I made friends with two other interns, one who interned with admin and one who interned in fz, the online section, and they were allowed to shadow their supervisors on some major assignments as well. As an intern there, I would advise that you strive to work fast and smart on every job. For me, that meant that I would have a larger portfolio of articles once the internship was completed.

12 weeks

RM 0

I was attached to a technical team whose job it was to respond to customer complaints sent to us through an online system. We were not exposed beforehand to what our internship scope was going to be. As it turned out, we would be working with ten different departments - which is perhaps why we were not given a fixed scope. We were not given the chance to conduct our own task or project, but were instead needed to assist the technical staff with their own tasks whenever necessary. Whilst they dealt with their tasks, they at least explained to us what they were doing, from the details of their equipment to the process flow.

My learning experience during the internship depended almost entirely on my mentor's input. But the internship was not to my expectations. The other important thing I learned was how crucial is time management especially when jobs were assigned.

Supervisors should keep an eye on practical students frequently by knowing their updates . When assigning job, let the practical students try to do some minor helps rather than writing down all the theories without experiece the actual field

Supervisors should keep themselves up to date with what their practical students are doing or learning. My supervisors did not make this effort as frequently as they should have. When assigning a job, they let us practical students help around with minor problems. It would have been better to have us write down theories about the field or about the equipment since we had no practical experience in their field of work.

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8 weeks

RM 1000

It was outlined for me on the first day of the internship itself. At first I handled odd tasks, such as helping to come up with content. Later on, I was given more to handle. I was told to manage the entire social media calendar for August, which meant coming up with content, editing, and execution. It basically got more structured later on.

I made a point of asking during my interview if I would get close contact with a mentor. Mentor support was crucial to the learning experience at TFM. The internship met my expectations. It pitted my principles against my head; in the end I came away enriched with experience, and with the soft-skills that I wanted. But I know now that working with the staff in the office is not something I want to do after graduating, and the corporate world is definitely not something I can do long-term.

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1. Those who are thinking of going into education and those looking at social initiatives and enterprises. 2. Anyone who has plenty of initiative!

11 weeks

RM 500

The gist of it was that I was to assist the training team. During my internship, the major part of the training had just ended, so I was involved in the wrapping up of it. As it was not a "peak" period for internships, I was also one of the few interns around and so I assisted the other teams as well. Some of the tasks included going through and creating an inventory, making "cultivation" calls to potential applicants for the TFM fellowship, and printing certificates for students who had participated in a TFM workshop previously.

Education inequity in Malaysia is a big issue that is plaguing the country, and it was very interesting for me to observe and learn from them and their strategies, which appeared to tackle the symptoms of the issue (short-term impact) to its core (long-term impact).

Whilst the mentor was helpful, I mostly feel like I did not learn much as many of the tasks assigned to me were menial.

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People in the field of education, or anybody interested in contributing to social impact. Also, maybe people who are interested in learning how a "professional" NGO functions. The work culture at TFM seemed very corporate to me despite it being an NGO.  

5 weeks

RM 500

My job scope was to assist the Alumni Team to organize the first Alumni Induction Ceremony. I was assigned to : 1. Locate and to conduct due diligence of suitable venues for the event. 2. Carry out negotiations for rental of the venue on behalf of my team. 3. Manage invitations to various corporate partners and trustees. 4. Identify and to carry out negotiations with suitable vendors for various items. 5. Assist in general logistics.

The internship exceeded my expectations in many ways: 1. Extremely diverse, powerful and positive organization culture. 2. High autonomy in clearing individual task. However, mitigated by weekly/daily meetings to ensure any issues or progress are communicated to other team members. 3. Support given by team members to ensure excellence in terms of work quality and deadlines are met. Biggest take-away: I would say the spirit of togetherness and the culture in Teach For Malaysia is something that you will not be able to experience in any other organization. The drive, dedication and passion to end education inequality is simply indescribable. Other skills include practical skills such as presentation of report, negotiation, effective communication etc.

My mentor actively involved me.  My mentor/supervisor and team members were always available to assist me in the event I require assistance. Before a task is assigned to me, I would be briefed by my mentor. Meetings are conducted as and when required and we would go through the progress of a certain task. 'You own it' would clearly depict the picture of the amount of autonomy given over the tasks assigned.

There seems to be a shortage of staff in the office but there has been an ongoing process to hire more staff.

Candidates looking for experience to work in a fast-paced organization and to better understand the education inequality scenario in Malaysia. Potential candidates should be able to work independently, be proactive and to strive for excellence in day to day tasks. Do not expect to do much photostat work or to ever serve coffee/tea in the office.

12 weeks

RM 500

Because I was doing a fashion based internship, I expected it to be gruelling, I was prepared for the worse. But my tasks weren't as tough as I thought it would be. I had to do tasks like compiling information from newspapers daily and filing them. It may sound menial, but it made me really organized. I was also in charge of the social media platform - I compiled all information from all departments and updated the company Facebook page daily, and the blog weekly. I was sent out into the stores to photograph new trends and promotions. The best task was organizing a fashion show for the retail store. I picked out clothes, photographed and styled them, worked with models, dressed and made sure everything went out smoothly before, during and after the show. I also managed magazine merchandise loans, proof read ads, wrote press releases, and little things like arranging magazine cabinets and taking messages for my supervisor. During promotional events, I was one of the staff in charge of front house, and I was involved in planning the company dinner.

I had prepared myself for super long hours, coffee runs and had practiced multi tasking , but this internship was surprisingly laid-back, and incredibly fun. I say laid-back not because I didn't need to do my job, but because I had a mentor and colleagues who were very supportive and reminded me not to be so hard on myself. I wasn't given any incredibly important assignments, but for me it is the little things that made me learn more about myself. I learnt to be organized and adaptive. I learnt to ask for what I want and insist on it until I got it. I learnt to set high standards for myself.

My mentor actively involved me, was mostly attentive and ensured I gained from the internship.

I am incredibly passionate about fashion and I honestly did wish I had a little bit more responsibility, maybe more tasks on the creative side rather than marketing. It would be nice to sit in meetings with my mentor. But other than that, I am happy with my internship.

It would be great for somebody who's studying public relations, or is interested in event planning. It is also a great role for someone who is organized, patient and enjoys dealing with people. Having an interest in fashion retail is crucial too!

8 weeks

RM 1000

1. Event organising, research, helping with assorted work. The work scope was outlined clearly beforehand but I took it upon myself to help as much as I could. 2. Organising the Industry Inside: Engineering event and the Breakfast with CEO event plus a research project regarding Returning Experts.

The mentorship helped make the internship truly meaningful. It gave me the chance to step into the government's shoes and take a look at problems from their perspective and to always ensure that all correspondence outside is double, triply checked.

Students from any field who would like to try their hand at event organising on a national scale. Also, students who want training with regards to dealing with different processes in a large firm, on your ability to be detail-orientated and working on your soft skills. Less so on really technical financial skills, if that's the thing you're going for.

8 weeks

RM 450

I was a reporter on the news desk. On my first few days, I shadowed other reporters to observe them. I followed them on assignments (press conferences, events, etc.) and helped them write their articles. The following week, I was sent on assignments alone and had to do my own writing. However, those first solo assignments were 'easier' tasks; more human interest-type stories. That helped me ease into the job. Only in my third week did I start covering bigger stories; politicians, national interest news, etc. The job scope was not explained to me beforehand but I did not have difficulty adjusting. My colleagues and superiors were very helpful in guiding me throughout the 8 weeks. Interns also have the freedom to rotate desks (lifestyle, features, etc.) to gain more exposure; just talk to the editors. TheSun prints on weekdays only, so working days are Sunday to Thursday, but you can schedule yourself for a regular Monday to Friday work week too (the office is quite dead on Fridays though). They're quite flexible that way.

What I appreciated most about the experience was the trust placed in interns. Interns are given independence to produce their own work while still having the support of superiors and colleagues. It is a very hands-on job; you will get a very clear picture of what it is to be a journalist. Not being trained in the field, I still learned to recognise the different styles of reporting and the different characters of the several national newspapers. You also learn to write very fast. Besides that, I gained a lot of insight on several national affairs, having practically first-hand access to all the information and people of interest. It is a very eye-opening experience to essentially be the middle-man in providing information to the public. It is also widely agreed that theSun is the most neutral English language newspaper in Malaysia. As it is owned by Berjaya Group, every once in a while there will be a small insert on Tan Sri Vincent Tan or Tun Dr Mahathir but their news reporting is unbiased. Given the size of the paper (about 10 pages of news), their writing style is concise and straightforward.

My mentor actively involved me, mostly attentive and ensured I gained from the internship.

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Journalism majors, definitely. Also anyone who is interested in current affairs (another intern and I are International Studies majors) and the goings on of the country. The job is fast-paced so you have to be active - be an active listener, ask questions... It got intimidating at times, especially at bigger events and press conferences where you and a bunch of other more senior reporters are waiting for some minister but even the journalists from other companies are happy to help you if you ask. You get exhausted from the working hours and constant movement but at the end of the day, job satisfaction makes up for it.

11 weeks

RM 750

"I observed and help where and when was necessary. As I joined the department when they were ongoing an Internal Group Audit, hence I was actively involved in preparing the documents required by the auditors. This includes finding the document, ensuring that it was the correct document and that all the required additional documents are attached, photocopying the document for additional filing purposes and scanning the file to my line manager who would do the finally checking. Due to the lack of time, we did not kick start the project that was to owned by me and another intern from end-to-end. However, we were instead given a mini project to come out with ideas to enhance the product/campaign workflow. This would benefit both future and current employees as they would be able to understand clearly what is required from them, which before this they may have missed out."

"The internship met my expectations as I came to the Bank with the intentions of learning anything and everything. Throughout the 11 weeks, I was able to experience working in the Bank, liaising with different departments, being exposed to various products and processes of the Bank. My biggest take-away lesson about the organization is that anyone can get anything done, but the amount of effort that you pour into completing a task would reap different results. This internship gave me a great insight into the banking industry as I was able to see how the departments function and support each other. Among the skills I gained from this internship include people skills whereby I learnt to communicate with different level of authority people whereby it is important to be specific and straight to the point. I also learnt alot of the photocopying/printing/scanning machine as well as their functions and troubleshooting. Moreover, I improved my Excel skills, communication skills, learnt to be fast and efficient and generally a better person."

"My mentor actively involved me, ensured I gained from the internship and made up for lack of structure with active improvisation. My supervisor was constantly hands on with the interns of the department, which in this case was me and another intern. She would constantly guide us on how to complete the task, and would be stern if we kept doing it wrongly. She made sure that we were involved and was always learning. She brought us along to meetings and even let us attend workshops with top managements of different departments which really opened my eyes as I was able to see how the top managements communicated with each other. Overall, she was very approachable, constantly helping me, and praising if I’ve done something right, or explaining to me if I’ve done something incorrect which motivates me to perform better. She was also always asking about our feedback and making sure that we are happy. The other intern and I are both given ownership over the catalogue of files that we did."

"Having joined the department during audit season, everything was fast paced and required immediate attention. This enabled me to learn fast about everything. However, it also denied me the opportunity to do a project as my supervisor and line manager were too caught up with the auditing to assign me to a project. Hence, I would have loved to have been involved in a project instead of doing mostly repetitive work everyday. It was indeed exciting as different documents and campaigns were required, yet it was repetitive as it was still the same routine of work."

"The internship would be most rewarding for applicants who have a strong interest in the Banking industry and the drive to work as there would be late nights and going home on time is a rare opportunity. It would be helpful to have good Excel skills, be a neat person, and to work efficiently and effectively. It is also important to have a good attitude and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Most importantly, be cheerful, approachable and polite."

10 weeks

RM 800

I was assigned to the Investigations Department. I went in not having the slightest of clue of what they did. My first two days there were spent familiarising myself with the Investigation Guidelines and the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007; the Act under which most of the offences we investigated were prosecuted. After this, I was given the main task of my internship by my mentor, which was to produce a full researched report comparing the jurisdictional differences between insider trading laws of 4 different Commonwealth countries. This took up the bulk of my time there. I enjoyed it thoroughly as the SC has a well-equipped library and the subject was very interesting to me. My mentor constantly guided me through my research. In between completing my research, I also helped out with collecting and analysing various forms of evidence in different cases on capital market offences. I was never given any administrative tasks to do throughout my two months there. My mentor made it clear to me from the start that I was training to be a professional and that I would not be given tasks such as photocopying, transcribing or stamping to do. The working culture at the SC was not at all close to being stressful. Most of the staff worked from 9-5. The SC also constantly organised sports competitions at its on-site sports centre, including futsal, badminton and basketball in which interns were free to join. There was also a gym available for us.

This internship definitely met my expectations. My mentor was always available for consultation and was never too busy to stop by to enquire on my progress every once in a while. This internship helped me to understand both how the capital market functioned and how it was regulated effectively. I was glad to read in newspapers that the cases in which I helped out were later successfully prosecuted by the SC.

My mentor was mostly attentive and ensured I gained from the internship.

The internship was too long. The learning curve was steep in the first 2 weeks but plateaued after that. Considering SC's policy of a minimum 2 month internship, it would have been much better if interns were rotated to another department after a period of one month.

This internship is well-suited for those from a background of economics, accounting, finance or law. It would suit anyone who would like to learn more about Malaysian financial and capital markets. An internship with either the investigations or prosecutions department would particularly reward those with a strong sense of justice, who would like to see wrongs put right, and white collar criminals being given their just desserts.

8 weeks

RM 500

I knew who I was going to work with beforehand, but was warned that the responsibilities pile on as needed. I started out with handling inquiries on their community relations system, but moved on quickly to conversation strategizing, copywriting, planning for media buying, negotiating with world renowned bloggers to penetrate new markets.

All your tasks are based on your own learning as well. Your supervisors encourage you to venture into new areas the organization has never gone into, trying out new methods that may or may not work. The point is your growth, and perhaps theirs as well.

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1. People interested in writing, in digital marketing and social media. 2. Just about anyone who works well with people, and is able to generate practical ideas.