“Consistency to anything is key. Whatever it is, however silly you think you look, just start. As long as you have curiosity, it will take you where you need to go.”

This is a piece of advice that many of us need as we begin to explore and find ourselves in university. We – the interviewers – had the privilege of taking a glimpse into Ms. Susan Tam’s life. We’ve learned numerous valuable insights and life lessons during our interview with her. This is Ms. Susan Tam, a part-time public relations (PR) tutor here in Monash who is also a professional yoga instructor!

Ms. Susan’s experience working with industry leaders such as Al-Jazeera and The Star has allowed her to cover her fair share of mind-boggling news. She shared one such example with us: her eye-opening experience interviewing the king of Swaziland (now known as Eswatini). The local culture and protocols for an audience with the king were entirely foreign to her. She was caught unprepared. Ms. Susan strutted in confidently to have an interview with the king, clad in her comfy yet professional business pantsuit, only to catch wind that women were required to wear skirts in the king’s presence. Violating this law would mean being beheaded; or at least, that’s what her colleague from Berita Harian said. Ms. Susan had her doubts about this information, but yet it was enough to make her paranoid throughout the interview – fearing that her life might just be on the line. The interview itself went well enough, except when the subjects had to crawl on all fours to approach the king. Then they crawled backward, obliged by law to constantly face the king while retreating from his presence. That was certainly a new experience for Ms. Susan. Thankfully for Ms. Susan, she left the interview with her head still in its rightful place. The law does not apply to foreign emissaries and interviewers. A good scare, I must say.

For Ms. Susan, the most fulfilling part of journalism is crafting stories to give voice to the voiceless, to foreground the sorrows of the silenced. She does this in hopes of raising awareness and inciting positive change. Some of us might go: “Ahh, journaling. It’s just writing stories and then presenting them. Aiya, easy only lah!” Yet, for a veteran like Ms. Susan, she experienced firsthand how challenging it is to ethically extract and compile accurate news, and then present it in an engaging manner to the audience. Still unconvinced of journaling’s importance? Just take a look at the current hot topic: Israel’s occupation of Gaza. The journalists covering Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the mass massacre of Palestinians put their lives on the line to provide accurate information on the current situation. The demands that journalism imposes make it challenging to strike a balance between work and personal life. While journalism is a source of adrenaline for Ms. Susan, the stress is disproportionately immense and has caused her to burn out. 

In the past, Ms. Susan juggled between her part-time master’s degree and full-time journalling. Her overpacked schedule led her to have trouble sleeping, to which she found yoga as her medicine. Encountering a yoga teacher during her trip to Langkawi in 2008, Ms. Susan had her first formal introduction to yoga and its philosophy. She was enraptured by her yoga teacher whose view of life resonated deeply with her; inspired to pursue yoga further, Ms. Susan underwent a course with the Malaysian Association of Yoga Instructors (MAYI) to become a qualified yoga instructor herself. This spurred Ms. Susan to take a step back and become a freelance journalist, working on a commission basis. Thus finding greater autonomy over her time and work. Yet, she realised that becoming a freelancer left her time-rich but cash-poor. She has to find another source of income, which led her to teach; bringing her here today, with us in Monash Malaysia. Luckily, we’ve had the privilege of witnessing her yoga proficiency firsthand during our interview with Ms. Susan! She gave us a little demonstration of her favourite yoga pose – the dancer – a pose that requires a lot of balance, concentration, and focus. She loves the dancer’s pose as it resonates with her current study of salsa and bachata dancing (plus, it looks really graceful too). 

To end, here’s a piece of advice from Ms. Susan for all aspiring journalists. 

“Read widely, and be open to any medium, be it text, audio, video, or any other way you perceive content. Be open to all sorts of issues, even the ones that make you uncomfortable. And lastly, always be curious.”

Do you have an intriguing story about an unexpected connection, a memorable experience, or any random stories you’re eager to share with the world? Don’t keep it to yourself! Share your story by DMing us on Instagram @musamonga! Your story matters to us, and we can’t wait to hear from you!

Featuring: Ms Susan Tam

Interview coordinated & interviewed by: Kaira

Written by: Jason Nataniel and Shania Poh

Photos by: Ezriq