Malaysia Tourism Board, Disappointing

Malaysia Tourism Board invited over 190 journalists from all over the world to witness the opening of Floral Festival 2007, which was part of the Visit Malaysia 2007 program.

From Indonesia, 17 journalists from 10 media – 7 printed media, 3 tv stations -- followed the 5 days trip in Malaysia (Jan 25th to 30th). I got a chance to represent SCTV to go there together with Anca Leksmana (producer) and Bambang Triyono (cameraman). Being invited by the Malaysia Tourism Board, I had a high expectation that it would be a fun and easy trip, in the sense of we would get easy access to explore interesting places in the country.
However, it surprised me that in most of the places written on the itinerary, we couldn’t shoot anything! Actually, when we just arrived at the hotel, the first thing I asked to the Senior Tourism Officer of Malaysia Tourism Board was a simple letter stating that they invited SCTV to come to promote the country for Visit Malaysia 2007, in case we needed it. But, to write such letter, the officer said that they needed two weeks time! Geezz.. Why does it take so long to write a simple letter? I understand bureaucracy might be complicated, but couldn’t they make it simpler to ease the work of the journalists?

So, we were there for 6 days, had an itinerary on hands that looks fabulous from outside but useless. For example, there was a shopping tour program for 5 hours in 2 shopping malls and IKEA. But then, in these malls, it was forbidden to shoot anything. As journalists who work for a TV station, what’s the point going there if we couldn’t record anything? We came to Malaysia to work, not for holidays. We are not tourists.

Another small example, we were scheduled to have lunch at a revolving restaurant at KL Tower. We also couldn’t shoot there and the manager even had no idea that a TV station from Indonesia would come. Being in KL Tower, the 4th tallest tower in the world, it would be such a waste if we couldn’t shoot some scenes from the top of the tower. So, we contacted the PR of KL Tower by ourselves. I got her number from a French journalist who works in KL. We got a good response from her as she realized that it would be a good exposure for KL Tower. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and it was such a short notice. She could only assign a customer service to take us to see the facilities that they have and shoot there. If we contacted her earlier (on the workdays), then she could have arrange a tour to the top of the tower, which is not a public area. Wouldn’t it be amazing?

She wanted the Tourism Board to contact her to confirm that it was true SCTV came on behalf of their invitation. So, we asked the representative of the board to call her. Apparently, she already contacted the Tourism Board in KL herself. And this caused a little bit of a crisis in the board (Malaysia and Indonesia offices). The representative of the board from Indonesia who brought us there, called us up saying that her boss was angry at her and now she looked so stupid and unprofessional in doing her job. So, she warned us not to contact any parties directly in the future. Oh great! Being journalists on a TV station, our job is to get a good picture and produce a good show. If the board didn’t do their homework in arranging permit to shoot in any places, then as journalists, it was our instinct to contact the party directly. Especially, when we could get direct access to the party (journos always know how to get direct access, right? ;))

Being a PR myself, I couldn’t believe how the Malaysia Tourism Board didn’t understand what the media needed. A TV station doesn’t need to go to IKEA and eat at a fancy restaurant if they couldn’t get any story (and picture) out of it. Plus, there are so many nice places in Malaysia that actually we could explore for 5 days, apart from staying in Kuala Lumpur only! Too bad the board didn’t allow us to go outside KL (only to Genting Highlands and Putrajaya). They should’ve created a program highlighting the best spots in the country and most importantly, arranged a permit in each of the places so that we could shoot there freely.

Plus, we got a tour guide that had no experience in guiding the media. She made our days even harder as she always forbids us to shoot here and there, even in Petaling Street (China Town)! Ckckck.. (but we tried to convince her that it was ok to shoot there and if anything bad happens , we wouldn’t blame her. Oyeah, we also managed to drag her to take us to Batu Caves Temple after the Genting Highlands trip. Batu Caves wasn't included in the itinerary, but we had to go there, otherwise we wouldn't have enough images/stories for the show due to all the limitations)

So, 5 days in KL, we felt frustrated. Frustated by the board and… by the tour guide! Hopefully, next year the board does their homework well and knows the needs of each type of the media. If not, it would be such a waste to invite many journos from all over the world if they couldn’t maximize their work during their stay there.

Now you know how frustated we were when filming the show. This is a behind the screen story ;). The "Melancong Yuk" Malaysia episodes will be aired on Saturday, 3 February and Sunday, 4 February at 6.30am in SCTV.
It will be 2 different episodes, full of hard work and lots of candid shots. So, make sure you watch both of them! ;)

The Highlander: Not for eternity

Have you ever been to The Highlander pub at the Grand Kemang Hotel?
I’m not a regular customer myself. I went there once to enquire prices for a private party. And since then, they included my email in their promotion mailing list. No probs… at least until yesterday, when I unexpectedly received this rather ‘abnormal’ message…

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To whom it might concerned

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I wrote you this e-mail in regards to letting all the highlander costumers know that all of you being fraud by The highlander scottish pub and restaurant.

Recently they just put the beer price up, without further notice from the restaurant management. The steak measurement is way bellow standards, they serve only 80 gr of steak instead of 200 gr, they put a lot of vegetable instead of meat inside their pies.

They put 21% of service but they are only paying the hotel management 17,5%, they never pay tax, they paid all of their staff under goverment standards of payment, they didn't provide the staff with medical insurance, they let one of their kitchen staff died becasuse of the air circulation in the kitchen area is bad, the gas in the kitchen always leaking, etc

PLEASE IF YOU TOLARATE THIS IT MEANS YOU ARE SUPPORTING LOOSE CRIMINALS,...STOP COMING TO THE HIGHLANDER, AND SHOW THAT YOU CARE
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The person who sent this email to me (and to 45 other recipients) is definitely disgruntled. Anybody out there knows what had happened to this Scottish-themed pub?

Counterfeit medicines: another health hurdle

Yesterday, I went to an Anti-Counterfeiting Workshop for Pharmaceutical Products held by the US ASEAN Business Council. Guess what? I found out that in 1995, 60.000 people in Nigeria were inoculated with fake meningitis vaccine. The most extreme was that in 2001, when 192.000 patients in China died after taking counterfeit drugs.

Would you believe this?! It bound on me that this counterfeit drug is a serious matter. Consuming counterfeit drugs would result in sick people end up sicker, wider epidemic spread and prevention failure (in case of fake vaccines), numerous unwanted effects, and in extreme cases, death

Too bad we do not have the exact numbers as counterfeit drugs are not always identified or reported, unless there are casualties involved. But are we gonna wait ‘till someone dies?

Apparently, the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has taken steps to put an end to the problem. BPOM has made a number approach to tackle this 'obat palsu' matter. They are trying to break the supply chain, conduct national joint operation and investigation (with law enforcement agencies), carry out comprehensive investigation and mopping up what is already in circulation, strengthen the infrastructure, and break the demand chain (increase public awareness).

However, in my opinion, BPOM shouldn’t be the only one taking on the responsibilities (as stated otherwise in Detik.com, 15 January 2007, "Obat Palsu Beredar Luas, Pemerintah Yang Tanggung Jawab"). The legal drug manufacturing companies, wholesalers and retailers, as well as health professionals should also make efforts to put an end to drugs counterfeiting.

The International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group (IPMG), for example, has put up a national award for anti counterfeiting journalism. The award is a form of appreciation from the industry for journalists’ efforts in providing beneficial information and increasing public awareness on counterfeit drugs.

Well, the simplest and safest way to combat this problem is to buy medicines in legal, registered pharmacy.

PR Consultant Turns TV Host

Apparently, being a TV presenter isn’t as easy as I thought. Four days of shooting in Sukabumi – Pelabuhan Ratu – Ujung Genteng were so colorful and full of unexpected things. Being appointed as the new presenter for "Melancong Yuk!", a traveling program in SCTV, I had to walk for miles in a slippery and stony path; swam in an icy water under a waterfall and waited there until the cameraman finished taking different angles of the waterfall (damn it was freezing cold!); woke up at 5.30am and be ready to take some shots or continue our journey (note: wake up early isn’t my thing at all!); sat quietly at the back of a military truck in the middle of a stormy night “only” to find giant turtles that were laying their eggs; almost carried away by the current when I had to learn surfing; and many more…

Apart from that, speaking in front of the camera itself is another interesting subject. For this program, I asked SCTV that I wanted to write my own script. But then, writing and speaking are two different things. “Cut!”, “Retake!”, “Action!” were the most frequent words came from the program director every time I slipped my tongue or lost my words (yeah, it happened many times! Hehehe…). Plus, while thinking on what to say, one had to be aware of the body language, intonation and facial expressions (oh, having experienced all these things, now I have a different opinion toward movie stars!)


Nevertheless, I had lots of fun and learned a lot from those four-days trip. It was definitely a whole new experience for me. And I guess, the whole crew (Gunawan as the Executive Producer, Iwan Gunawan as the program director, Bondan as the cameraman, Vino as the audioman and Mas Ahong as the driver who took us everywhere) also enjoyed the fun, especially when seeing me falling down into a giant turtle’s hole when it was just finished laying its eggs!!! Hahaha… Fortunately, the giant turtle already covered its eggs with earth, so there were safe ☺. But it was me who left in shocked! And instead of helping, everyone just couldn’t stop laughing. Gosh… I bet it was funny as hell.

On top of that, I felt so grateful that Maverick gave the flexibility that enabled me to take this opportunity offered by SCTV. Many thanks to both Maverick’s partners, Ong and Mbak Lita. Their permission reflects that as a company, Maverick encourages its consultants to grow, not only as a PR practitioner, but also as an individual.

Also thanks to SCTV for choosing me as the new presenter for “Melancong Yuk!” :).

My first gig will be aired next Sunday, 7 January 2007 at 6.30am on SCTV. Don’t miss it yaaahh!!! You can also see it at .

Note:
“Melancong Yuk”! airs every Saturday and Sunday at 6.30am on SCTV.
I will take turn with a male presenter, Ferly Junandar, to present various interesting places that are perfect for holidays ;)

New Faces in Maverick

Maverick welcomes three new associates today, its first day of operation in 2007. They are Tuhu Nugraha, Dorte Luedecke and Mersa Siswowaluyo.

Tuhu is a graduate of Padjadjaran University majoring in International Relations, and continued his Master’s degree on Management at Gadjah Mada University. As a student Tuhu was active as a coordinator of various student activities and won several prizes in debates and speech contests. He is also the Chairman of Smart Corner Club MM GMU, a live weekly radio talkshow discussing a variety of business topics.

Born in Germany, Dorte got her BA degree in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne, Australia after completing her IB diploma in Jakarta. In Australia, she interned at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and worked on a TV pilot program. Fascinated by Indonesia’s culture, politics and media, she returned to Jakarta in April 2006 to see what it’s like to work here. Since then she has worked as an Event Consultant in corporate and government events such as the Balikpapan Expo ’06 and the Indonesia Infrastructure 2006 – Conference and Exhibition.

Mersa is a familiar face in Maverick, as he’s been working in the media tracking division, before joining the consultancy side. Mersa holds a BA degree in Economics from Western Michigan University and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Business Law at Universitas Padjadjaran. Before joining Maverick he had a wide range of employment experiences, that range from being a resident assistant, a luxury car salesman, and a freelance marketing consultant for several domestic mining companies.

The three of them are eager and excited to start their career in Maverick. Or as Dorte put it, “Maverick is well known in the PR circle and it made me curious to find out what it is that makes Maverick, Maverick,” Mersa, who’s been around Maverick for four months may have the answer. He said, “I felt Maverick was a good choice for me to be part of, mainly due to their no non-sense approach towards business and their result oriented culture that get things done when and where it is needed.“

Well guys, we are as excited as you are to roll out the new year with kick ass work. And for that, we have assembled an eclectic and complementary mix of talents like you are. More importantly, we put our heart and soul in doing our job, and that what makes Maverick, Maverick.