The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) is inspired by the vision of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, and we share his vision as stated in the 1957 Proclamation of Independence that this nation should:
“be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”
IDEAS is Malaysia’s first think-tank dedicated to promoting market-based solutions to public policy challenges. We are an independent not-for-profit organisation. As a cross-partisan think tank, we work across the political spectrum. Our purpose is to advance market-based principles, and we are not bound by party politics, race or religion.
Our mission is to improve the level of understanding and acceptance of public policies based on the principles of rule of law, limited government, free markets and free individuals.
IDEAS was officially launched on 8 February 2010 by YBM Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Our outstanding work and commitment to quality has received international recognition. On 18 January 2011, IDEAS was ranked as the 18th best new think tank globally and second best new think tank in Asia in a survey of 6,480 think tanks in 169 countries by University of Pennsylvania and United Nations University.
More information can be found on www.IDEAS.org.my.
Internship Scope:
In addition to helping the day-to-day operations in our office, we usually allow our interns the freedom to propose specific projects that they are passionate about, so long as the ultimate aim is introduce classical liberal ideas and market-based solutions to public policy challenges. The topics are up to the candidates’ own creativity, but, as a guide, these are some examples based on our priority areas for 2011:
1. Researching, documenting and publicising the thoughts and vision of Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman on a particular issue and how those ideals relate to Malaysia today.
2. Parliamentary reform – check and balance roles of the second chamber, improving the election / selection of Senators, strengthening research capabilities of our parliamentarians, etc.
3. School reform – choice and competition in other countries, home-schooling, school vouchers, school as nation-building tools, etc.
However, candidates are advised not to limit themselves to just these topics. We do not expect candidates to draft a proposal now. However, it would be good if they could (very briefly) present several project ideas in the interview.
In addition to the above, we may have a vacancy for internship in the area of social entrepreneurship. For this, the intern will assist in developing reference material on social enterprise for fledgling project to promote the growth of social entrepreneurship in Malaysia.
