13 December 2019
Marcus Tantau was a P104 intern for 2.5 months from end Sept to today, 13th of December. Good humoured, talkative, hard working and clever, Marcus was my first non-Malaysian intern. Hailing from Melbourne, Marcus has a masters from ANU and will now head on to Hong Kong to take up a job as a political analyst. He is one of those Mat Salleh who really loves Asia in a genuine non-patronising way.
Always willing to learn and help, Marcus assisted me in the research and writing of a policy speech on the US-China Trade War’s impact on Malaysia, and our analysis was spot on when a few weeks later published economic data confirmed our projections.
He spent a bit of time in Parliament, met some famous politicians, helped out at community work and drove me around. He exhibited particularly good communication skills and has shown a high degree of professionalism and tact.
The officers and interns will miss having him around. His love for economy rice is legendary. We wish him all the very best!