Maverick Indonesia

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.

Larger than Ekskul

The whole FFI fiasco is getting more interesting as the mainstream media have been picking it up, not just the infotainment shows. Yesterday morning I took time to watch the Bayu show on Liputan6 Pagi SCTV where Mira Lesmana as a representative of the Masyarakat Film Indonesia (MFI) duked it out with Remy Silado, jury of the FFI. Tonight, let’s watch it again in SCTV’s Topik Minggu Ini.

At a glance, this might seem like a battle between the young filmmakers against their seniors. The seniors, in this case, happened to be represented by those who were members of the FFI jury, which had created the controversy when they picked the film Ekskul as Best Picture in the recent FFI awards show.

Last Wednesday the MFI held a press conference in which members and past winners of the Piala Citra returned their trophies in protest of the victory of the film “Ekskul” an Indika Films production. They claimed that the movie, besides other factors, have illegally used original score (that’s usually the orchestra music in a movie) from movies such as Gladiator and Munich (by composer John Williams and Hans Zimmer).

The battle between the young filmmakers (according to many media, although Mira Lesmana is actually 40) vs the veterans, reached another level when critically acclaimed veteran actor/director/producer Deddy Mizwar also joined the “movement” and returned his Citra trophy. Suddenly it’s not so much of a young vs old battle.

This morning, I saw a “creative” infotainment program comparing film clips of the movies “Ekskul” and “Munich” containing the same part of the musical score, to prove that the local production did use the music of the latter. Of course, no production company or composer was credited during the public viewing (usually done by placing a credit title at the bottom of the screen, such as “Munich - Courtesy of Universal Pictures”). I also wonder if international music publishing companies (with local reps here) will do more of this and start legal battles with the media who illegally use their copyrighted products.

So I recently spoke to a member of the MFI, who really was trying to straighten out the news, that this whole movement is NOT about the protest to get Shanker BS of Indika Entertainment return the Best Picture Citra trophy, but rather to reform the local regulation on films, filmmaking, censorships, etc. so that Indonesia ultimately can advance culturally through the film medium.

I guess the general public will never really understand what exactly is going on in that industry unless the media starts touching more on the real issues rather than just the most controversial aspects of it. The MFI has received much attention by having Indonesia’s top young actors and actresses on their side and giving up their trophies, but so far, the public attention has not been on the broader issues that they want to bring up to the surface. The Mavs are just really curious on the communication strategy of the MFI to reach their objective.

Let’s just see how this circus turns out.

Betawi Albino

It is certainly not easy for me at times to live in Jakarta. When people look at me they see the young female bule and probably think that I have no idea about Indonesia’s culture and politics. But once I open my mouth they don’t seem to be able to close theirs.
People here are so shocked when they find out that I can understand and speak the language that it is annoying when you are in the middle of telling them something, while they are still in shock hearing me speak bahasa gaul. Someone asked me once where my family is and I would start with “bokap gw ….”. I can’t just continue as they are obviously not listening anymore but rather go: “ya ampun, kok bahasa indonesia lo bagus bangat sih!” I don’t want to come across as arrogant or anything like that, but I have heard that so many times now that it is getting on my nerves. It might be weird at the start when you meet me, but will you people please get over it.

I personally believe that any bule in Indonesia who is living here for more than a year should be able and willing to speak some Indonesian. We are in someone else’s country, so we should respect that and learn their language. The majority of bules don’t even make an effort, and it has become a norm. It really bothers me that the majority of expatriates think that it is not worth while to appreciate the Indonesian culture.
From a business perspective, I think it is crucial.
I have met a lot of bule businessmen in Jakarta and Balikpapan who get a great salary simply because they are Caucasian. I start chatting with them and they just go on and on bitching about the locals. I find this straight out offensive and I can’t believe they have the audacity to even say such things when they should be in actual fact thankful for getting paid so much money compared to their Indonesian counterpart.

Maybe this sounds all a bit aggressive from my side, but I have witnessed this so many times, that I think it is time to share my observations and thoughts with you on this topic.

(I have lived in Jakarta now for 5 years and have to thank anak2 IKJ for teaching me while nongkrong at TIM for a couple of years. That’s where i learned my bahasa gaul. The Indonesian language has become a part of me and I’m proud of it!)

The Tiring Writing Competition for Journos

There are ways for clients to develop better relationships with journalists, and writing contests USED TO BE one of the more popular ones.

Many PR firms have continually submitted such proposal, including us. Recently a prospective client complained to us that they always get it and they’re quite sick of it. Some journalists have talked to us about these and said that there’s just too many writing contests, and the prizes are not too significant either. Soon, the trophy or plaque for the winners will just become those dusty items that will take up space on one’s desk. One of the journalists say that he’s more interested to participate if the grand prize was something in the form of a scholarship to study abroad for a Masters degree, for example.

Yet the point we’re trying to make, especially for those who do what we do:

Stop recommending writing competitions to your clients!
When it’s their idea, just say NO (in a nice client servicey way, that is).

Good job Colonel Sanders!!

Its wonderful news for all KFC freaks around the world, especially for me who concern about healthy food. I always believe not every junk food is unhealthy… Hah, it’s because I like KFC so much

As written in Yahoo News this morning, Colonel Sanders will stop using artificial fat out of its frying oil! Check the link here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061030/ap_on_he_me/diet_trans_fat_ban

Phuiii…Will KFC Indonesia implements it soon? Oh, please do, so, I can eat KFC with less worry, nyam…nyam…

KFC for lunch, people?!

No longer ring … ring …

Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, O2, HP are only several leading mobile phone supplier among the others. The existence of mobile phone (cellular phone) in Indonesia began with Motorola’s expansion in Asia. At that time, the size of a cell phone was almost as big as a brick. These days, you can find the slimmest cell phones around. Samsung has declared themselves as the creator of the world’s slimmest cell phones, launching the Ultra Edition; D830 in 9.9mm, D900 in 12.9mm, and check out X820, world’s thinnest profile of only 6.9 mm. It’s even much thinner than my compact powder!! Soon they will probably try to compete with Durex in terms of who has the thinnest products…

If we’re talking about size, anyone will agree with me that size does matter. Apparently, in the mobile phone industry the slimmest is the trendiest. These mobile phone suppliers offer much more than just small size; design and advanced technologies, such as mms/sms, video, mega pixel camera, radio, 3G, games, etc, are common features you can find in any cell phone around. Now, the slimmer and the more advanced features you have on your cell phone, seems to determine your class in this materialistic society. Many people get the latest model, as frequent as they change their underwear. The cell phone phenomenon is that they are increasingly becoming fashion phones, where you match your phone with your clothes.

To tell the truth, I’m a “gaptek” person and for me a cell phone is only to communicate and that’s it!! And to have my phone match my clothes sounds ridiculous… Many friends of mine have suggested me to change my cell phone to the latest model. One friend said, “Try this O2 Xda Atom Exec! It runs on Windows Mobile 5.0.” Other friend said, “Buy Nokia N90 and you can watch TV there!” All of their suggestions only gave me a headache.

So, what about those people who always change their phones with the latest model. To whom they ask for opinion or from where they learn the specification of the cell phone. It’s surprising that Indonesia is well outfitted with publications on cell phones. I have found more than 15 magazines or tabloids that are ready to fulfill our need on the latest information surrounding telecommunication, and cell phones are only a small part of them. Look at the media list below! They can be generated as the leading telecommunication media.

CHIP
Tren Digital
T&T
Tabloid SMS
Telset
Tabloid Roaming
T3
Gadget
Komputer Aktif
Hardware Magazine
Phone 3 Magazine
HP Magazine
Sinyal
Info Komputer
PC Magazine

At the moment, I’m handling one mobile phone supplier from Taiwan, Dopod, and I admitted that they have a high class products. The products have eh… premium price, but I’m sure that it is worth the technologies they offers.

After the product launch, the media would contact me and ask to borrow the products to be reviewed. Their judgments of the product are reliable, because they explore the whole features of the product; design, performance, program, entertainment media, are the most common categories. They can even take these gadgets to bed. Most of them also make comparison of one product with the competitors. Whether it’s credible or not, we just leave it to the readers. Do they buy it or not? But I guess you have to read more than two media until you can decide whether the product is good or not. In that point, any majority always win the case, right!

Bang Yos: Start “Acting Metropolitan”

Today is Jakarta’s 479th anniversary, and last night Bang Yos pleaded the 13 million plus Jakartans to start “acting Metropolitan”. In his speech during the Kick-off party of the month long festivities, Bang Yos called on the people who have lived and claimed to be a resident of the Big Durian to behave like modern city folks and not just like “villagers who vandalize public property in the capital city”.
On the vandalizing subject, he was also referring to the labor rally turned violent in early May of this year, when hundreds of workers destroyed city properties along the protocol roads including an attempt to torch a Transjakarta bus.

For “un-metropolitan behaviors”, Sutiyoso gave examples such as littering and jaywalking. He also added that Jakarta is already a big mess as a result of the uncontrollable flow of urbanization, especially when those who come are “unqualified and unproductive” according to city standards.

Reading about his speech, I couldn’t help thinking that his “Acting Metropolitan” plea is geared more towards those who are less privileged in the city, while we know that some citizens who drive around in fancy new cars or big chopper bikes are also “kampungan”. Well, those who are less privileged tend to imitate or look up to the behaviors of those who are perceived to be at the higher social strata. So, perhaps in his final year of his second term, Bang Yos should be tougher in enforcing his rules and values to those who are supposed to know the rules already - those who have experienced the “better” cities in the world, and those who know how other citizens work together in making their city a better place to live.

PS:
Indonesia is a country that never misses to be in the top 10 lists for everything bad, and a major city like Jakarta also gets some reputation acknowledgement. A Recently, New York based Reader’s Digest magazine published their survey on the “35 Most Courteous Major Cities In the World”, putting New York City at the top, while Mumbai, India is the least courteous. Although the method of survey seems too sketchy and non-scientific, Jakarta is ranked at no. 8 from the bottom of the list. What do you say about this?

Something to be proud of

The thing I’m proudest of is to be able to leave the office for two or three weeks with almost no contact and enjoy peace of mind while I’m on holiday since I know that when I get back the office will still be shipshape.

I think its one of the highest achievements a business proprietor could hope for: a kick ass office that runs itself. It wasn’t always like this and Maverick took three years before we managed to begin shaping a team that works like a dream machine. I think this is because my partner Lita and I learned from our mistakes and refused to compromise on quality.

The people we recruit are usually signed on to a 6-month contract. During this time they prove themselves. We use a Caree Journal that the staff fill in themselves. There are all sorts of parameters we’ve put in. One of them is a record of how much the staff network. Another is a record of the books they’ve read for the months they’ve been with us. Then they are asked to evaluate themselves in terms of professional skills, interpersonal skills, creativity and drive. We then have a discussion with them to see if our perception agrees or differs from theirs in these crucial areas for a successful PR carreer.

Those who score satisfactory overall may have their terms extended so they can prove themselves. Only those tho score good or extraordinary get recruited. We repeatr this process every six months. Each timethe staff builds on their journal entries and we check our perceptions against one another.

This method of performance evaluation has proven extremely effective. One other thing that Lita and I have done is to be stoic about insisting on both attitude and perofrmance. Our experience is that staffers will work out only if they have both the right attitude and performance. If they have one without the other the organization is looking for trouble if it settles for them.

The result is that we have a team that I’m extremely proud of. I’ts a team whose productivity, gung ho and kick-ass attitude places them way above many other Indonesian organizations. I’m also willing to wager their efficacy against foreign PR firms.

So what this really means is that I can enjoy my holiday and that’s what life should be about. I hope that Lita and I can swing it so that when the time is right they can alsy have as good a holiday as us while the others in teh office cover for us.

So, some photos as a tribute to the hardworking Mavericks in Jakarta.