Maverick Indonesia

Sandrina Malakiano is still here!

This former colleague of mine claims that she has been having difficulties getting “gigs” after she’s officially out of MetroTV. We must wonder why, because most of us know of her so well: we know about her marriage life, and most of us can imitate the way she pronounce “MA-LA-KEEA-NO”.

Well, if you’ve been following the story, I am sure you’ve heard all about the story behind her “disappearance” from the TV screen. Not seeing her on MetroTV is quite a loss to many viewers as she practically was THE FACE of MetroTV since its beginning (the other face would be that of the bearded one).

In the beginning of the year, MetroTV got so many inquiries regarding the “no-veil on air” issue, and their answer at the time was that Sandrina was taking a long leave to join her husband Eep, who was leaving to obtain higher education in Germany. Well, everyone bought this story (including me) and thought Sandrina had gone bye bye. Apparently, this was not true (or at least didn’t play out that way, as Eep never left and Sandrina claimed that she has always been around).

I remember one day in a very internal meeting at MetroTV, a man with the initial DBS who at the time was Editor-in-Chief, said that Sandrina is too closely associated with MetroTV that other TV stations probably wouldn’t want to hire her as an anchor. There’s probably some truth to that, but I personally feel that Sandrina in the post-veil era has a different persona and that “hard-news” image is gradually fading. And from talking to her, it seems that the change is something that she wanted as she aims to be a “freelance show-host”.

In the coming month of Ramadhan, Sandrina will be seen hosting a couple of Ramadhan shows on various TV stations. And looking at the Ramadhan trend in the past years, there’s so many gig opportunities (and hard cash) to take, as celebrities with “Islamic-image” will be so high in demand to be: hosts, MCs, celebrity guests on countless off-air events and tv/radio programs.

She also said that she plans to hold a “Hello?? I’m Still Here!” press conference in a very near future (most possibly before the start of Ramadhan). This, in my opinion, is just a great way to secure a LOT MORE gigs in Ramadhan.

So what’s really the problem, Sandrina?

Gamekeper Steve Irwin’s Very Last TV Shoot

Yes, we were all shocked to hear that the great “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin died from his injuries after his chest was punctured by the tail of a stingray, during a shooting of his TV show off of Australia’s north coast. It was reported that Irwin had pulled out the poisonous barb out of his chest, but the blow proved to be lethal.

The show “Crocodile Hunter” and Steve Irwin has inspired us all. He made us appreciate nature like no one ever before with his typical comments such as “This is such a beautiful poisonous snake” in heavy Australian accent.

Irwin was a super human figure who we thought only existed in fictional stories and comic books, but earlier this week it was indeed proven that he is merely human.

His show was also copied by others. All of a sudden, there were numerous animal-adventure (is that a correct term for this genre?) show with fun n crazy hosts. Yet we all still loved Irwin’s show more than others.

The Indonesian televison industry, is also known for making “adaptation” programs that are somehow “inspired by” or “accidentally similar to” shows from western television. When the original Fear Factor Indonesia was running in RCTI, TransTV also had a similar show which even had an interestingly similar bumper. However both shows didn’t last long due to bad ratings. Perhaps they should have packaged the shows in Dangdut format to boost the rating. One thing for sure, the copies surely can trim down the costs . TV Stations or the Production Studios don’t have to pay for the licence on the co-production to the guys such as Becker, Fremantle, etc.

Cutting costs is one thing, but most tend to also cut costs in areas that are most important and concerns the safety and well-being of the crew. When MetroTV reporter Meutya Hafid and cameraman Budiyanto was kidnapped in Iraq, it was simply a lack of preparation and safety precaution for the team of 2. Of course most people were too immersed with the whole hostage drama that was played out for months after the incident. TV7’s Jejak Petualang travel-adventure show team went missing several months ago. Perhaps this could have been prevented if the team was better equipped and funded, with a pre-taping advance team to survey the area.

A professional such as Steve Irwin, who must have a highly professional team with a huge production budget, died during a regular shoot. Should our people care more, or is “modal nekat” enough here?

A Meeting with Faisal Basri

My second meeting with Faisal Basri happened last Tuesday.

I met him for the 1st time back in May 2006, when Faisal expressed his willingness to serve as a member of Anugerah Adiwarta Sampoerna’s* Board of Judges.
*For more info on Anugerah Adiwarta Sampoerna, feel free to call Maverick or send an e-mail to aas@maverick.co.id

Who is Faisal Basri, anyway?

For those of you who haven’t heard of him, Faisal Basri is an Indonesian prominent figure, mainly in economy and business. In 2000, he was elected as an Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs. Currently, he is a Commissioner of the Supervisory Commission for Business Competition of the Republic of Indonesia. Viewed as an expert in economic field, his opinions have constantly appeared in several major publications in Indonesia, such as Kompas and Koran Tempo.

During Anugerah Adiwarta Sampoerna’s Judges Meeting last Tuesday, Faisal told us his ideas and opinion about journalists and media in general. Faisal believes that it is important for media/publications to use an appropriate Indonesian language. It is true, that the language used doesn’t have to be correct according to Pusat Kajian Bahasa Indonesia, for example. Journalists and the media, however, should also bear in mind that they also have to serve the public. Therefore, continuously using jargons or filling an article with too much ‘local slang’ can be irritating.

He also mentioned that a journalist must start to think out-of-the-box to find a different approach towards an article that he/she is working on. Faisal took the book THE WORLD IS FLAT* by Tom Friedman as an example. The content of the book is not new in itself, but Tom Friedman has managed to bring the concept of ‘the world is flat’ and make it looks new.
*Last week, Maverick Book Club has chosen The World is Flat to sit in our ‘must-read’ list

Before I met him, I’ve known Faisal Basri mainly through his personal website, www.faisalbasri.com, that presents a more ‘humane’ side of this economic expert. The web contains his profile, writings, lectures, and … his poems!

Just listen to this piece of poem he wrote during a flight; entitled Aku Tak Kenali Lagi:

Aku kian bergegas
Tapi mereka seperti berlari
Tiba-tiba muncul dari arah depan
Menyeringai disertai ejekan

Aku berbelok ke selatan di persimpangan jalan
Ternyata jalan itu buntu
Aku berbalik arah menuju utara
Di sana ada keramaian
Tapi semua orang membisu
Kusapa satu-satu
Tapi tak berjawab

Well, turned out that our DKI Jakarta’s Governor candidate is a very poetic person!

“We’re empowering the government”

Those are the words of Bambang Basuki, the Executive Director of Mitra Netra Foundation (MNF) during an interview with The Star Malaysia late last week in “The 12th International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI)”. That was his answer when asked about the government’s support to MNF. Established in 1991, MNF is a Jakarta-based NGO dedicated to the education and development of the visually impaired through partnerships. MNF’s presence in that global convention was to discuss the attitudes and policies, inclusive educational practices, multi-disabilities with visual impairment, and equality of access to education for the visually impaired across the regions.

Bambang and Mitra Netra was profiled in The Star Malaysia for their struggle in empowering the Indonesian government to support and create inclusive educations for the visually impaired.

Maverick and MNF have also built up the partnership since 2005 in term of capacity building program in communication and public relations skills which very much relevant to our expertise. By empowering Mitra Netra with communications skills Maverick hoped that all their set objectives would be soon accomplished.

”challenges can always be solved by learning and hard work, that challenges create opportunities,” as quoted from Bambang at the end of his interview.

You can check out the article’s details thru this link http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/7/21/central/14879155&sec=central

Zinedine Zidane from ‘Les Bleus’

Two steps backward, he looked directly into the eyes of the Portugal goalie, then looking down at the ball as if he was showing, directing and telling it where to roll. Calmly and with confidence, his skillful penalty shot at the 33rd minutes of the game against Portugal, Zinedine Zidane, the captain of the French football team delivered a golden-goal bringing the “Les Bleus” to the World Cup final.

Zidane and Les Bleus have been the talk of the World Cup since the team beat Brazil last Saturday. During that game, Zizou gave no chance for the Brazilians to catch up with him. At 34 years of age Zidane has shown his best football, which some people refer to as ‘magical performance’ on the field. The fans, and myself included of course, just simply can’t stop talking and adoring him. He plays the ball gracefully like a ballerina performing on stage. He looked, and demanded the ball at every opportunity. Amazing. Very entertaining.

Zizou is a great football player with a humble personality, calm character and mature attitude that has made him the star of the world Cup 2006. He has gained respect from his friends in Les Blues team, as well as from his opponents on the field. Simply, there is no way for people not to love him.

He started playing football when he was a little boy. He was not known to be the best player among his friends in the field but he was certainly the most persistent who never gave up learning to become a better player. Little Zizou would stay in the field after a game and try to learn tricks with the ball while his friends had gone home.

Now Zinedine Zidane has completed his master of a great football player. Not only that, he has become the ‘leading light’ in the World Cup Soccer field. After the game against Brazil, he showed genuine compassion to the losing opponents. He touched Lucio’s cheek and soothed Ze Roberto’ hair who lay on the ground crying, comforting them. Robinho squeezed him on the neck like a little baby not wanting to be separated from his mom. For him, Zidane is the ‘hero’ from whom he must learn so much before achieving the same level and become a football legend. After defeating Portugal, he put the t-shirt of Portugal Team Captain, Luis Figo on himself during the exchange. For me who’s been watching the games, those are rare scenes in this season of World Cup.

So, what it is for me as a PR person, the lessons learned? - That is, just like Zidane in mastering football, to be good in Public Relations requires many qualities, heart, determination, organization, and application; and more than anything else, it requires class.

Zinedine Zidane is definitely at a class of his own.

Life after journalism: Murray Hiebert

Canadian journalist Murray Hiebert found in 1999 that he was making rather than reporting the news after filing a story about the Malaysian Judiciary for the Far eastern Economic Review. He was convicted and sent to jail for what many observers felt was oversensitivity by the Malaysian Government toward press criticism.

After serving a reduced sentence in Malaysia he was posted to Beijing to write for the Wall Street Journal. With the Wall Street Journal’s presence in Asia crumbling, Murray has now left journalism to become Senior Director, Southeast Asia of the US Chamber of Commerce’s East Asia Department.

Murray was in Jakarta last week to accompany his boss, Daniel W. Christman, the Senior Vice President, International Affairs of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Its a new appointment but we wish Murray well in his life after journalism. We’re sure he’ll help guide the US Chamber to even greater involvement with their counterparts in Southeast Asia, even as the Bush administration stumbles about with its foreign policy.

Mega is Back!

IT journalists take note: The irrepresible Megawati Khie is back as an IT Player in Indonesia, this time as Country Head of Dell Indonesia.

Mega was last in the public eye as the Director of Small and Medium Enterprises at Microsoft Indonesia. Then she resigned saying that she wanted to do her own thing. She’s now been appointed to head Dell. She’s always been quite newsworthy to the Indonesian media, being one of the few women in senior positions in the IT industry and juggling between career and motherhood.

Welcome back Mega and we’re sure you’ll be contributing to lots of copy.