A university student has made a complaint about his internship at a media company, stating that he was relegated to doing menial cleaning tasks instead of gaining any relevant media experience, and was subjected to insulting remarks about his personal appearance.
According to an Instagram post by MalaysianPayGap, a page that shares information about workplace salaries, the 22-year-old Chinese-Malaysian university student shared the ordeal of interning at a small company in Cheras.
Throughout his internship, he was not involved in any tasks related to photography or media, his chosen field of study.
Worse still, the student alleged that the employer frequently insulted his appearance and made fun of his hairstyle.
She demanded that he adopt a “trendier” hairstyle or dye his hair according to her preferences.
Bad review if hairstyle not “trendy” enough
Moreover, the employer threatened to give him a poor review in his internship report if he didn’t comply with her demands regarding his personal appearance.
Feeling unfairly treated, the student reached out to his academic advisor and reported his experiences.
Employer never pick up advisor’s call
His advisor promptly attempted to contact the employer to discuss her alleged mistreatment of the intern. However, the employer didn’t respond to the advisor’s calls.
“The employer had once mentioned an intern who had left without giving any notice. On the day I resigned, I told her, ‘Now I understand why the previous intern left,'” said the student.
He further claimed that upon his resignation, the employer immediately called his academic advisor, not to discuss his complaints, but to complain about his supposed “bad attitude.”
Despite her complaints, she never not acknowledge her mistreatment of him or other interns.
This disheartening account sparked a lively discussion among netizens, many of whom expressed relief that the younger generation is less willing to tolerate such workplace abuses.
Some emphasized the importance of standing up for oneself when faced with unjust treatment, while others mentioned that their school’s student union had created a blacklist of companies known for mistreating interns or offering substandard learning experiences.
