Internship at the Centre for Public Policy Studies

During my 2 month stay in Malaysia, I interned at the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), a think-tank under the umbrella of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI). This internship was thoroughly enjoyable and by far one of my most memorable internship experiences. From the aesthetics, to the office culture, to the actual assignments I was tasked with, this internship was definitely an experience I will never forget.

My first day at the internship (before I figured out the transportation system), involved me navigating a taxi up the steep, jungle-y hill to my office. My first surprise was the group of monkeys swinging on the trees beside my office. Coworkers would later tell me that these monkeys were very obnoxious, sometimes damaging cars and breaking into the office. I was advised to keep the windows shut, lest one of the monkeys decide to pay me a visit.

Just outside my office there were durian trees. The first time I had tried durian, I felt the sudden urge to gag. The second time I tried durian wasn’t much better. The third time was the charm. A fresh durian fell from one of the trees outside my office, and a coworker asked me to pick it up. After picking it up, and several minutes of manhandling the spiky fruit, I opened it, and enjoyed it. Ever since, I have been a durian convert. I may never learn to appreciate the smell, but I will eat it whenever it is offered.

My favorite part of the internship was getting to know the people in my office. I formed good relationships with my colleagues, and would spend most of my evenings getting to know them. This really helped me become immersed in my environment and facilitated my learning. I had studied Malaysian politics during classes I had taken back at AU, but now I actually had a chance to learn from actual Malaysians, who were very knowledgeable about not only Malaysia, but the United States as well. Some of my colleagues were also ethnic Chinese and I had the chance to communicate with them in English as well as Mandarin.

Beyond the friendships I formed with my coworkers, I also had the chance to make a few Persian friends. One time, my coworkers and my Persian friends met and we all went hiking. The hiking trail was rugged, and much more difficult than anything I've ever hiked in the U.S. When you see the pictures below, you will be surprised to find that the place we hiked was barely outside the city of KL.

During the Bersih protests (the peaceful, clean-government protests, which were met with a heavy-handed government crackdown), I avoided the protests and went to a colleague’s home and had a chance to meet her whole family (grandparents, children). My colleague made me homemade Malaysian food, which, in case you have been living under a rock, is some of the most delicious food in the world (no exaggeration). This was perhaps one of the most memorable experiences I had, and I will always regret forgetting my camera.

Besides these aspects of the internship experience, I also had very substantive work projects. I don’t know if it was my English language abilities or what, but I had a lot more responsibility than one would usually expect in a typical internship. Let me give you some examples of what I did: 1) I drafted multiple speeches for the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Musa Hitam; 2) I drafted a speech for the Ministers of Energy and Transportation; 3) I drafted a speech for the Housing and Property Minister; 4) I drafted a speech for the CEO of ASLI. Beyond these tasks, I researched human trafficking and youth parliament in Malaysia, gathered research materials on the economic impacts of cloud computing, served as a rapporteur for the Shell Smart Mobility and Energy Conference, and I served as the rapporteur for the Annual Joint Chairman Meeting for the Malaysia-China Business Council. Furthermore, I had the chance to attend several events such as a forum with pro-democracy activists, a forum with young Malaysian scholars, and the press launching for the 3^rd World Chinese Economic forum.

Overall, my experience was very fulfilling. I made great friends, learned a lot, had meaningful work, and had a chance to really become immersed in the environment.

Vietnam in Retrospect

Looking back on my experience in Vietnam, I cannot express how happy I am that I participated in this program. Although I’ve studied abroad previously, it is hard to compare other programs to this one. My previous study abroad program was a language program and although it was the opportunity of a lifetime, AU’s graduate study abroad program in Vietnam offers you the chance to intensively study the history, politics, culture, and economy of this emerging and strategic country.

While the program was enjoyable, I will not deny that it was very challenging. You really do a semester’s worth of work in three weeks. Although this is very exhausting, after finishing the course, I wished there was some way to take all of my courses this way. I really don’t think there is a better way to study a country.

In the morning, we would conduct our seminar at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. This seminar would run roughly 2 ½ hours, and occasionally guest speakers would visit us. After the class, we would spend the afternoon meeting with a wide range of people, who had expertise on the topics we were studying. Here’s an example of some of the people we met with: officials from UNDP, USAID, NGO leaders, leaders of top Vietnamese economic think tanks, former politicians, company leaders, and legal experts. Besides these meetings, we made site visits to Vietnam’s industrial parks, where we could examine, first hand, Vietnam’s attempts to move its economy to higher-end industries. After these visits, we would have the evening to soak up the culture, and read, of course. In all, after studying and discussing a topics on Vietnam's economy and politics in depth, we had the chance to meet with and question the people that worked with these issues on a daily basis. Furthermore, by studying Vietnam’s political economy, I felt as though we could appreciate Vietnam from a different perspective. Just viewing Vietnam’s infrastructure, and local businesses, was highly illuminating.

Besides these opportunities, we also got to experience Vietnamese culture first hand – the dizzying motorcycle traffic, Vietnam’s well-known dishes (pho, banh mi, bun, etc.), and Confucian culture. It was fascinating to see the similarities between Vietnam and China. As Confucian countries, with Communist legacies, and rapid economic growth, and similar governing structures there were several similarities. Despite these similarities, Vietnam is very unique, and does not have the warmest relationship with China – to say the least. While we were in Vietnam, there were some skirmishes with Chinese and Vietnamese boats in the South China/East Sea. Furthermore, during our stay, massive ant-China protests took place outside the Chinese embassy in Vietnam (however, we just read about this, we never witnessed it).

Another reason Vietnam was fascinating was because after several years of military engagement during the Vietnam War, Vietnam’s history is uniquely tied with that of the United States, and the history of the Vietnam War permeates much of American culture. We had a chance to meet with NGO leaders that dealt with issues relating to the destruction caused by Agent Orange, and we went to the Vietnam War Museum. While the museum had an obvious agenda, it was eye-opening.

Lastly, during our trip we had the chance to travel. During the first two weeks we stayed in Hanoi, and during the last week we travelled to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). While it is regrettable that we could not view more of the country, we covered a lot of ground during these three weeks. During this time, we visited Ha Long Bay, which is truly one of the most beautiful sites in the world. We also travelled to the Mekong River, where we had the chance to ride in canoes in the Mekong River, bike through the jungle and visit the “floating market”, which is exactly what it sounds like, a market on the river. After studying issues such as the importance of the Mekong River for millions of Vietnamese, and its environmental degradation, it was interesting to see life on the Mekong. As an agricultural society, it was fascinating to see how many people relied on the Mekong River for their daily lives. Furthermore, as we were studying Vietnam’s economy transformation, it was interesting to see how many migrant workers traveled to the urban powerhouses of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

The Vietnam trip was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering doing it in the future. There is truly no better way to study a country.