This is especially true among those who are from KL, placed in "small towns" like JB.
Several years back, a friend who is a journalist told me about his constant struggles with PR people of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) and Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB).
He told me of how these PR people do not seem to really care to engage the local Press nor do they seem to care about the Iskandar Malaysia's main stakeholders - the local people.
My friend said these PR people rather deal with the "higher class" media people such as big time editors and top journalists in KL. They also hardly care to meet the local stakeholders among the orang-orang kampung. They always feel that if they want something done, they can always get their friends among the Press bosses in KL to squeeze their subordinates in JB to do it.
At that time, I thought my friend was exaggerating. Well. this friend of mine is a bit of a diva and has a knack of being over dramatic from time to time.
But later on, I found out that he was actually telling the truth (eerrr, with slight kuah tambah la, of course). The ding dong battle between the JB Press and these PR people went on for quite sometime until things started to improve after direct intervention from none other than Khazanah boss Azman Mokhtar and Johor MB themselves.
My friend had then stopped bitching about the Irda and IIB PR people for quite awhile. In fact, he became good friends with some of them and started writing glowing reports about the two organisations. The Irda and IIB PR people also improved a lot by making lots of engagements not only with the local Press but more importantly with the local people through their CSR programme and development briefings.
The honeymoon lasted for quite a while until around the end of 2010 when Irda and IIB overhauled their PR teams. My friend said things are now back to square one. The new PR boys and girls are mostly from KL and quite snotty, he said. They simply refuse to learn from their predecessors.
Looks like they have to learn it the hard way.
The new IIB Comms team recently made a major blunder by getting the Star's "top editor" BK Shiddhu to interview their boss instead of giving such a privilege to the newspaper's highly experienced JB-based business writer Zazali Musa. The outcome of the disastrous interview I heard could be quite severe for the IIB CEO.
You cannot offend the Arabs like that la. That's what happen if you get a 'top editor' who are out of touch with sensitive issues to write for you.
Well, I don't even want to bitch about the even worse new Irda Comms team, as I may end up not addressing the real issue I want to bring up, which is the attitude of the Petronas PR team handling the petroleum hub project in Pengerang.
I heard they are even worse than their peers in Irda and IIB.
Well, they better change their attitude, and they better do so NOW.
GET OFF YOUR KL HIGH HORSES AND ENGAGE THE LOCALS.
The Pengerang project will come under attack as the general election draws near. I had written about it here
Cooking Lynas-style nonsense for Pengerang
These Petronas PR people better have a plan not only to counter but also pre-empt the coming attacks. Win over the locals. Get down and dirty. You all are no longer high up in the cloud at the glittering twin towers in KL, ok?
And don't send some lowly lackeys, who can talk endlessly but can't decide without management say so, to do the work down here. Decisions on what needs to be done must be made fast, so if your decision making process takes days if not weeks, die la for sure.
You hit right on the head! Wonder do they feel the ouch?
ReplyDeleteAgree with you on this.
ReplyDeleteJB Boy
Mana ada org media kat IRDA...semua karut lah. Makan gaji aje, name saje besar - Vice President kononnya
DeleteAs a Johorean by birth (Selangorian by education) I do hope what you say here are read by whoever in charge. if not, could somebody relay this to the right people...
ReplyDeletetau la pengerang tu agak terkebelakang berbanding dengan tempat lain, tapi kok ye pun, jangan la diabaikan.
I read that after the PR boys did some demonstration there, some UMNO n NGOs showed their support by gathering org kampungs there, but I still think there are a lots of lingering doubts, which if not allayed, will bite those PR boys in the ass.
What u read about the counter demo against the Pakatan crowd in Pengerang is true. What I wrote here is not unknown to the Johor BN top brass n they r taking all necessary measures to fight back Pakatan's effort to create an issue out of the Pengerang project. The problem is, that effort is being bogged down by Petronas public relation team which somehow failed to realise the significant political impact such a project has on the public as the general election draws near. It's the same problem with Iskandar Malaysia project where the people responsible feel that it is not important to care for the local stakeholders. Considering that many of them are pro-Pakatan makes me sometimes believe that the lackasadical attitude was intentional.
Deleteyes, Petronas (and Dialog) and the local/state authorities must engage the locals whom will be impacted directly. I think most locals are pro development but I think the local/state authorities and involving business entities must address the immediate issues and concerns especially compensations for land taken and loss of income swiftly. Don't just hang them in the air, not knowing when/where/how they will fall. That's really scary. Try imagine that...
Deleteyes, Petronas (and Dialog) and the local/state authorities must engage the locals whom will be impacted directly. I think most locals are pro development but I think the local/state authorities and involving business entities must address the immediate issues and concerns especially compensations for land taken and loss of income swiftly. Don't just hang them in the air, not knowing when/where/how they will fall. That's really scary. Try imagine that...
Deleteyes, Petronas (and Dialog) and the local/state authorities must engage the locals whom will be impacted directly. I think most locals are pro development but I think the local/state authorities and involving business entities must address the immediate issues and concerns especially compensations for land taken and loss of income swiftly. Don't just hang them in the air, not knowing when/where/how they will fall. That's really scary. Try imagine that...
Delete"The new PR boys and girls are mostly from KL and quite snotty, he said. They simply refuse to learn from their predecessors." --- Big Cat, you hit the nail on the head on this comment. Let me add more from my experience. Both the Comms bosses of IRDA and IIB (Zaini Long and Nurashikin) we are told are from KL and stay in KL with their families. Their head of PR and Media (from IRDA-Norhayati) is also from KL and husband is also in KL. As you said, they are very snotty and dont know exactly the situation is on the ground. I have tried, as a small SME investor in JB, to meet the head of Comms of IRDA many times, but am always told she is either on leave, overseas or away in KL. When I press further for details, the staff in their Comms Dept told me,"Biasa lah, rumah and famili kat KL, jadi selalu buat meeting kat KL untuk balik rumah dengan keluarga" Is this how the Comms Head of IRDA works? I remember there used to be a lot of local media and JB folk engagement in 2010. There were many Open Days and events where we JB people could see what was happening in Iskandar Malaysia. Now when I call to ask for information, the IRDA Comms Head is always not in office (but in KL) and the Media head never want to explain to me or just pass the phone to her juniors, who cannot assist. If Head of Comms IRDA and IIB want to be effective, they must be stationed in JB always. I am sure media local kat JB pun rasa sama dengan Comms IRDA ni - Mohd Salim Arshad
ReplyDeleteBetul kah depa ni dari KL? Mengapa IRDA dan IIB perlukan mereka yang tak guna ni? Ta'ada kah org kat Johor ni. Kan Iskandar Malaysia di Johor. Ambik org KL kerja sini buat apo. Kalo mereka tak duduk sini, memang ta'ada hati kat Johor...nak makan gaji aje ke?
ReplyDeleteDengar ramai kat IRDA dan IIB dah resign? Dapat kerja lebih bagus. Betul ke?
DeleteIIB habis le. Siapa nak kerja dgn Dtk Syed ni.Team lama dah semua lari. Tinggal Kucing Kurap yg tak tentu arah aje!
Deletejangan kacau periuk nasi orang...not very nice!
DeleteHave you ever thought that Syed Mohamed was telling the truth about the Arabs are more or less out of Medini, only to be scorned later by Khazanah so that they can still hide the shitty land deals that they signed with Mubadala and KFH.
ReplyDeleteRumours said that Syed Mohamed and his Comms team were whacked by Khazanah last week because of The Star's article on 'The Arabs are out of Medini'.
ReplyDeleteAlso hearing that Syed Mohamed was asked to sign a Board Paper on another restructuring of Medini vehicles involving the Arabs, which he refused to sign. Now we are also hearing that Syed Mohamed is taking leave...not sure if he is being asked to take leave, or he himself is taking leave out of disgust with Khazanah.
IIB's CEO is taking the heat for failing to cover the Medini shit for his shareholders.
Khazanah, stop the lies. It is a matter of time before someone will bring all the agreements with the Arabs to the Police, and better still, post these shitty deals over the internet for public viewing, just to show that Amok and his monkeys are really a bunch of idiots.
Taking leave means leaving for good from IIB. One wonders what happened to the MACC investigations on earlier CEO? Pushed under the carpet?
ReplyDelete