Good afternoon! Tania here with a final/farewell post as research officer to Wong Chen, before I fly off to study in Oxford for two years.
What I’ve learnt from serving alongside the P104 office family can’t be fully expressed in a Facebook post, but these wise words of an Oxford alumna do help:
“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour [help, relief] of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” —J.R.R. Tolkien
You don’t need to work for an MP to know that corruption and injustice stain our country, but one year of policy research, parliamentary proceedings, and community service constantly and clearly puts it in your face.
It’s not in any of our capacities to fix all that’s broken in Malaysia’s systems, but we can do what’s in us for the good of our country.
I’m thankful to have worked with those who do just that: Wong Chen raises the standard of policymaking in Malaysia, and mentors his staff and interns to do the same. YB Hannah Yeoh’s office downstairs (that’s us staff together!) exemplifies teamwork between MP, ADUN, and local council. Our volunteers make time on Mondays for service night or on Thursdays for phone-banking with INVOKE Malaysia.
(You too can join P104’s humble service: email tinalai.wongchen@gmail.com if you’re interested in being a polling & counting agent [PACA] in GE14, or research@wongchen.com if you’d like to intern.)
Whether you’re an honest politician keeping yourself free from love of money, or an honest employee doing your job as best as you can do, thanks for serving Malaysia in your own way. My job here might be over but our fight for our country continues!