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Kuala Lumpur

Short introduction of yourself

During the first semester of study year 2015-2016 I had the pleasure of conducting my design project at Besi APac in Shah Alam, Malaysia. This is a semiconductor assembly equipment manufacturer located just outside of Kuala Lumpur, at which I worked on reducing excess inventory from within the planning department. I am in the old PTL track, so without any further specialization, and I do a master of finance as well. Read on to learn about my experiences doing an internship in Malaysia and why it was one of the best choices I’ve ever made!


Practical information

Preparation

What were important items that you brought?

Good looking dress shirts are surprisingly hard to come by in Malaysia, so depending on the dress code at the internship company, those are good to bring along. Basically everything else is available over there, so if you bring a debit and credit card you are golden!

How did you travel (cheap) and how did you arrange that?

Kuala Lumpur, luckily, is not a very expensive destination to fly on. Buying a return ticket well in advance through a comparison site will get you there at a very reasonable price. Keep in mind that a good luggage allowance might come in handy, as you are moving to the other side of the world for half a year. Also, since picking the date for the return flight that far in advance might be difficult, keep an eye on the fees the airline will charge if you change your booking.

Did you need any visa or other official papers?

The MDBC takes care of the required working permit and will inform you of all the documents required for this. This makes it all very convenient! J


Living

Did you arrange a room or place to stay in advance?

The MDBC facilitates a Facebook group with all the students arriving for the new semester, in this group you can find apartments that the current generation of interns will move out of. Through this you can then arrange to take over their lease and find cool roommates to move in with you! This way I had a room arranged in a very nice apartment with great roommates before I headed to KL!

How expensive is living over there?

While naturally depending on the foreign exchange rate of the Malaysian Ringgit, living in Malaysia is generally quite cheap. The apartments are very affordable compared to Dutch student rooms and the other costs of living, such as food, are low as well. The only rather pricy thing is alcohol, but the rest of the costs more than compensate for this.


Experience

How were the first couple of weeks?

After arriving in Kuala Lumpur, I rolled straight into a house party at one of the other intern’s houses and onto a night of clubbing! This got the initial jetlag out of the way and after the weekend was over, I got settled in rather quickly as the internship started on Monday. The first weeks were mostly getting to know to company during the week and partying during the weekends with some awesome trips (bonding!) early on as well!

How did you experience doing an internship abroad?

In short, it was awesome!

How was the total experience? (Country, people, living, culture)

I feel like I couldn’t have made a better choice than interning in Malaysia, it was great in every aspect!

Did you experience a culture shock?

Not at all, Kuala Lumpur is a rather westernized city by Asian standards. If you have never been to Asia before some things might surprise you, but in general the cultural differences should be very manageable to anyone looking to expand their horizon and live abroad.

How was the food?

Think of all the great things Asian cuisine has to offer and more, available in restaurants around the corner at unbelievably low prices! And if you ever long for some European food, that is widely available in Kuala Lumpur as well.

What was better than expected?

A lot of things really; the travel opportunities, the nightlife, the apartment and last but definitely not least, my roommates! Safe to say, interning in Malaysia as a whole was even better than expected!

What was worse than expected?

The impact of a night out on my bank account, but it is so worth it haha!


City/student life

How was your overall experience with the city?

Kuala Lumpur is a good place to live! Due to the prevalence of expats in the city, the locals are not surprised to see Dutch people around their town, so you can get along rather undisturbed and feel at home. A lot of people in the city also speak English, so this makes life a lot easier!

How was your living place?

Perfect! Living like a king in a very luxurious apartment in the centre of Kuala Lumpur, I wish I could afford something like that in the Netherlands! We had more space than we needed, 3 bathrooms on 4 people and the apartment complex came with a swimming pool, a gym, parking spaces and a small shop! Oh, and from the 24th floor we had an amazing view of the city’s skyline as well!


Travel

Did you have any chance to see something of the country?

With the abundance of national holidays in Malaysia, there were a lot of days off and long weekends, so there were plenty of opportunities to explore Malaysia! All in all, I feel like I have visited all the important places to go in mainland Malaysia during my internship there.

What are do or don’ts concerning trips?

Definitely a great do: visiting Perhentian Kecil! Do pay attention to the island closures due to the monsoon, but when the island is open, it is the closest you can get to a tropical island from your dreams! White sand beaches, blue oceans, sleeping in huts near the beach, parties on the beach at night with cool people and great diving/snorkelling spots, what more could you wish for?

The biggest don’t would be related to the same trip; don’t be cheap and take the local bus, but instead fly to Kota Bharu. The extra comfort is more than worth the costs for this one!

Another, rather obvious, do; plan your trips well in advance. Everything gets more expensive as time progresses!


Looking back

Was it worth it?

Most definitely! Very valuable cultural experience and all the great times living in Malaysia I will never forget!

What did you learn?

The most valuable learning experience was working with people from other culture, both during the internship and during daily life! Malaysia is composed of three large ethnic groups, Malay, Chinese and Indians, so it is a great country to experience working with three different cultures at once and I am sure this will be very valuable during my future career!

What do you regret?

If there was anything at all to regret, it was not taking more time out for travelling Asia after my internship!

Would you recommend doing an internship in Kuala Lumpur to others?

Highly! If you do an internship in Kuala Lumpur you are basically guaranteed to have the time of your live!

Are you still in contact with your friends/fellow students?

Yes! I had a great group of other interns that I lived with, that became true friends and I am still in touch with!

Other tips & tricks?

For travel within KL, preferably go with Uber as the taxi drivers tend to refuse to drive on the meter and will try to overcharge you