Thursday, February 26, 2009

Sime Promises Better PR

A Kadir Jasin

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LAST evening, several bloggers were invited to a dinner and discussion with the top brass of Sime Darby Berhad led by its Chairman Tun Musa Hitam.

Also present were its President and Group Chief Executive, Ahmad Zubir Murshid and the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Group Communications and Corporate Affairs, Leela Barrock.

The bloggers were YB Wee Choo Keong, Rocky’s Bru (Ahirudin Atan), I Am A Malaysian (Eric Woon), 3540 Jalan Sudin (Noraina Samad), Outsyed The Box (Syed Akhbar Ali), CT Choo and yours truly.

Many issues and development concerning the conglomerate, its shareholders and the staff, including the controversies surrounding the aborted plans to purchase the National Heart Institute and the construction of a new low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) for AirAsia at KLIA were discussed.

They also explain the long-term philosophies and plans to make the company a major global player in plantation, engineering, properties development and natural resources extraction.

Ahmad Zubir said the board and management of the company are always conscious of their responsibility to the company’s 10.5 million shareholders, its 100,000-odd employees and the communities it serves worldwide.

Sime Darby is 52-per cent owned by Permodalan Nasional Berhad. Other substantial shareholders are the EPF and the Tabung Haji.

Ahmad Zubir said the next five years would see its plantation growing from the current 600,000 hectares to about a million hectares and several core units being listed while the smaller non-core businesses sold.

Both Musa and Ahmad Zubir acknowledged that Sime Darby has not been very good at conducting public relations and has missed a number of opportunities to explain its position in the LCCT and NHI controversies.

They said the company is taking step to improve its public relations capacity and expertise to deal with the traditional as well as the digital media as part and parcel of transparency and good corporate governance.

They also confirmed that contract with the controversial PR company, Fox Communications, has not been renewed.

59 comments:

Anonymous said...

Datuk,

Just tell them ... Go fly kites!

haha ...



-sinbad-

Anonymous said...

Datuk,
Sime Darby dah memang kalah kempen PR sejak mula-mula Tun Musa jadi Chairman. Orang putih kata "bad PR".

Sizero

de minimis said...

First, may I say what a pleasure it was to have met you at the dinner.

It is, indeed, interesting to hear that Sime is developing an awareness that they have to re-vamp their stodgy attitude towards public relations.

From what we heard, Sime's corporate plans and social programmes will put most companies to shame anywhere in the world not to mention most governments.

It is particularly noteworthy that they have strong environmental sensitivity and, that they are rolling out an updated annual education and social endowment that will benefit Malaysia and Malaysians.

As with all things, let us see whether Sime's future deeds will match their words.

Rgds
CT Choo

Quantum Metal Consultant said...

Bertukar nada di ambang Najib mewarisi kepimpinan utama.

Anonymous said...

saya rasa bukan kerana PR Sime Darby di benci orang. Berkoyan koyan PR tak akan dapat membersihkan 'persepsi' mereka. Kebanyakan informasi yang datang adalah dibocorkan oleh mereka sendiri yang tidak suka kepada cara pegurusan membawa sime ke hadapan.
Adalah lebih elok mengganti kan pihak pengurusan kepada yang lebih berwibawa dan mampu menolong ekonomi negara daripada poket mereka sendiri.

ahli UMNO temerloh

Anonymous said...

Salam DAKJ

Basically, I have nothing to say but I still want to post a comment.
It is interesting to talk about a very successful company. But I don’t like the last statement says that their public relationship is not very good since Tun Musa Hitam was an ex-TPM before.(No delusion please!).
Anyway I like to make a suggestion. Instead of making profit, why don’t Sime Darby involve in a clinical research since they own a few big hospitals and make a lot of money from it. We have lots of Malaysia clinical practice guideline but most of our guidelines are base on the clinical studies which was done abroad. To be a full develop country, we should have our own clinical research and the guideline should infer to our own population. Make it as ‘sedekah’. TQ.

Siti Khadijah said...

Dear Datuk AKJ,

PR and Corporate Communications must be handled with care and sensitivity. I reckoned they misread the public totally in the case of IJN and Labu Airport. Personally, I'm surprised that the top management and the PR team could not see it. All it took was a simple read of The Scribe and Rocky's Bru. No matter how good the communication team is, if the leadership is not in touch with public's sentiments it will not work. Good luck to the PR team.

Anonymous said...

Dato',

Hope the bloggers go there only for dinner on the table, not the dinner under the table hehe

Bye/Roti Planta

Anonymous said...

Good PR alone is not good enough. SD must prove in real term and something that is tangible to give confidence to the 'marhaen ' like me that at the end of the year we have something to fall onto for our family needs. More often that not a well-planned and strategised PR is to surreptitously cover the failures and blunders made by an organisation.

Anonymous said...

Datok,
banyak kali saya (mungkin melayu lain ) diperbodohkan dengan jenaka begini.terbaru sime darby.seperti biasa juga banyak orang melayu amat gemar dan tercengang dengan angka miliion-million.orang kampung akan mengeleng-geleng kepala membayangkan banyak mana lah million-million itu.saya berfikir;
1.kenapa tiba-tiba sime darby nak mesra rakyat.komponan baru dalam BN ke?.kenapa baru sekarang nak diwar-warkan.
2.Sime Darby sudah tepu,skop perniagaannya telah terhad dan hilang daya saing.
3.adakah sime darby sayap pelaburan kerajaan atau UMNO.
4.apakah dengan menyatakan antara share holdernya Tabung Haji maka semua orang islam mesti meyokong dan semua tindakan sime darby adalah halal.
5.saya pelik kenapa tiba-tiba perkara ini timbul dekat dengan peralihan kuasa dalam umno.sudah sampai masa orang melayu perlu bertanya dan bersikap skeptik agar tidak dipatuk oleh seekor ular dalam lubang yang sama beberapa kali.
sekian.
zmy.

mekyam said...

damage control, keeee? :D

Anonymous said...

Sdr. A Kadir Jasin,

Even though Sime Darby is listed on Bursa Malaysia a substantial shareholding is held by PNB, EPF and Tabung Haji. Indirectly it is owned by the rakyat through either one of the three shareholders or a combination of either two or all three.

If Sime were to be "remote controlled" by "penjual-ikan politikus" bent on making money for themselves then we, as a rakyat must rid off these undesirable elements during the next general election!

Taking over IJN is a bad PR exercise, whichever way one looks at it! Doing LCCT in Labu would ONLY BENEFIT a very selected few "penjual-ikan politikus"!

Sime Darby should just concentrate on financially viable and profitable ventures that enhances shareholders' returns without being dictated and remotely-controlled by a selected few rascals.

After all everyone that contributes to EPF or has savings in either PNB or Tabung Haji has a stake in the company! Those that hold high position or position of influence/power should take note of this.

If Sime Darby were to fail then the impact on the overall economy would be so huge that a ruling government would cease to be one come a general election. So politikus please bear this in mind and don't ever forget it!

Sekian.
Dari Borneo ke Minang

Unknown said...

Assalamualaikum Datuk,

What Olive's leaves before Caeser steps down. Get the Chairman, President and the bad adviser to resigned. Bikin malu rakyat.

Anonymous said...

Datuk,

The PR people did not make the decisions on the poorly thought out IJN and LCCT mega projects. Musa and his board of directors did. Even the best PR company in the world would have a tough time spinning on the viability, feasibility and ramifications of the projects on the RAKYAT. Musa and his board of directors must have thought that it was going to be a piece of cake judging from their breezy manner in handling their own PR guys. By the way, Datuk, I have just finished reading Tun Ismail's "The Reluctant Politician". The late Tun had a soft spot for Musa and was grooming Musa for most possibly higher-profiled position. He definitely favoured Musa over Dr. M. I am just glad to discover that Tun Razak thought Dr. M showed better leadership skill than Musa and thus, ignored Tun Dr. Ismail's advice.

Melati

zainal abidin awang kechik said...

kalau bukan tengku razaleigh membawa balik dari london sime darby...dengan arahan TUN RAZAK...

tiada cerita.. tapi manusia di sime darby ni... "KUFUR NIKMAT"

Anonymous said...

Datuk,
Ternyata Tun Musa tidak sesuai lagi duduk di kerusi tersebut. Isu LCCT dan IJN tidak boleh dikategorikan sebagai 'bad publisiti atau bad PR' tetapi 'poor judgement' oleh pihak syarikat. 'Poor judgement' perlu ditanggung oleh beliau dan Group CEO Sime Darby. Ternyata mereka langsung tidak berjiwa rakyat. Tindakan mereka telah mencemar dan menjatuhkan nama baik Syarikat. And a good PR is needed after this. Untuk memulihkan keadaan secepat mungkin, Tun Musa dan Group CEO perlu letak jawatan. Sime Darby - Kamu Sungguh Memalukan.

Meluat Dengan Alasan

sujini said...

Salam Pak Kadir,

Sime Darby mempunyai President/CEO dan Chairman yang berugama Islam. Pokoknya , niat atau tujuan untuk memajukan Sime mestilah bersih dan ikhlas.

Jangan ada peluru dalam kocek! (I just concoct this).


p/s: Star melapurkan hari ini, MCA Legal Bureau Chief berkata , quote," the political scene in the country had yet to reach maturity...bla...bla " unquote.
Jadi yang tak matang ialah orang-orang politik termasuk pelawat-pelawat blog Bapak yang menghentam Bapak.

sawit futures trader said...

Salam Dato',

Nampaknya blog telah diiktiraf sebagai media yang relevan. Tahniah.

Namun saya tertanya-tanya, bagaimana pula dengan media yang lain? Adakah ada sesi berbeza untuk mereka? Atau tidak perlu kerana tidak punya masalah?

Dan diharap SIME sedar, di blog, "talks means nothing, action is everything".

Kita tunggu sahaja apa langkah SIME seterusnya.

amoker said...

Datuk, isn't it too late to start thinking? They have outgrown others by perceived political manipulation and continue to get 'good projects'.. flexing their muscle. Don't blame on PR.. blame on the management. They are the ones who came out with the brilliant ideas. SD is now the symbol of capital greed in Malaysia.

btw, while they grow their plantations... it is not the size but the yield per acre. If they can cut less forest and increase the yield, i will solute them. They nearly bulldozed the orang asli settlement in Labu for LCCT.And with no major competitors to compare, doubt that serios work are done in that area. Show us results please. I hope the PR folk is reading this.

Anonymous said...

Sime Darby has a long history and a valued name. The board need to be conscious of its heritage.

Hence, it should not be involved in half baked get rich schemes to defraud the people. It must be extra careful of political machinations.

Improving its PR means nothing. Just another nice brochure.

cicero

Unknown said...

Dato',
Promising better PR is not going to help Sime do better. Looking at the Management team and the progress they have made so far doesnt speak well of the future.
My dealings with their Property teams at Bukit Jelutong and Planters Haven in Nilai tells me that more trouble is expected from Sime.

Legal Cat said...

Datuk, just because they did not attend to the release of the news well does not mean the meant well. There is always the tendency of big corporations to plan first then deal with any problem later. Couple that with the Malaysian way of doing business, then we have a I-don't-care-what-the-people-think-as-long-as-our shareholder (including all those fat cats)-benefit-from-it mentality...

sawit futures trader said...

Salam Dato',

Singgah sekejap bagi berita ekonomi.

100,000 Jobless Malaysian By Year-end
By Shannon Teoh, Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 – Over 100,000 Malaysians will lose their jobs by the end of this year, the Human Resources Ministry said today.

The grim projection of rising unemployment means the country will have to brace for things to get worse even as the government rushes to prepare a stimulus package that will only cushion the impact of a global recession.

Datuk Noraini Ahmad, the deputy human resources minister told Parliament today that 54,977 Malaysians have already lost their jobs since last October.

Of this figure, 4,620 chose voluntary separation schemes, 38,821 were temporarily laid off and 11,536 were permanently sacked.

Earlier figures by the government had only mentioned the 11,000-plus who had been sacked, despite claims by other parties that hundreds of thousands of jobs were under threat.

Noraini also added that the ministry projected between 40,000 to 58,000 workers would lose their jobs this year.

She said this in answer to Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique’s (BN-Tenggara) question on a projection by the Malaysian Employers Federation that between 200,000 to 400,000 jobs were under threat this year.

“The ministry is aware of this projection, which may be based on a continuous downturn. But, according to our unemployment operation centres, only 54,977 have lost their jobs from Oct 1 to yesterday, 5pm,” Noraini said.

Asked by Halimah about the “tens of thousands of Malaysian workers overseas,” Noraini replied that while a “train and place” programme was in place, very few overseas workers had registered with the ministry.

Using Singapore as an example, where about 300,000 Malaysians are working, Noraini said that only three workers had registered while another nine had signed up at the Johor Baru office.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/19161-100000-jobless-malaysians-by-year-end

Jika boleh, harap Dato' menulis artikel baru atau komen berkenaan artikel berikut:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/19159-dap-proposes-plan-for-north-south-expressway-to-toll-free-by-2016

Adakah cadangan oleh DAP itu sesuatu yang boleh dilakukan secara realiti? Setahu saya (mungkin saya silap), butir perjanjian konsesi PLUS belum lagi diperincikan kepada parlimen (atau umum). Seolah-olah DAP pakai teka-teka sahaja.

Anonymous said...

Bad PR or not, S.Darby couldn't be bothered. It will not affect their financial standing whatsoever. Unlike smaller and more hard-working companies, bad PR carries weight to their financial and wealth-being.

Giant corporate and conglomerates in this country are likened to our political way of ruling: Draconian. Who cares what the rakyat is blabbering about. As long as money, wealth and power is concerned, anyhting otherwise are just bollocks to them.

To S.Darby and the likes, why should they spend money on building PR when they can use it for business purposes?

Teratak Cahaya said...

Salam Datuk,

Kalau Sime hendak berubah....tukarlah CEO baru...yang lebih muda dan berwibawa

Anonymous said...

Every effort must be made to ensure Musa Hitam being dropped frm the Chairmanship of Sime Darby.

He is totally disconnected from the "rakyat".

As a Johorean i am deeply ashamed to acknowledge him as Johore leader.

So much of his "diam anggun" huh.

drmuzi

sap said...

Salam Dato'....
cadangan sy kpd Sime Darby, what if they be the foundation/main investor or what so ever they called, to develop the astronomy's field in Malaysia....we know that the development in astronomy is much expensive and our government cannot afford it....so why dont Sime darby try to get involve as investor or foundation.....
TQ

ab said...

Salam dato,

Is it PR problem or board of commitee thought block problem?.


SD ni goverment entity ka? private entity ka?. Atau halimunan bolih jadi goverment atau private entity bila dia hendak?.


Kalau ianya government entity, jangan letakan harapan terlalu tinggi untuk tujuan perniagaan.. selalunya tujuan nak curi harta kerajaan(rakyat) menjadi tujuan pertama...tenguk kesah lama gula perak,bank bumiputra,perwaja padiberas negara,pantai, dan macam-macam lagi...


Kalau ianya private entity...saya fikir memang tak pandai berniaga lagi juga....kalau orang nak buat lapangan terbang baru, tentu lebih baik kat utara malaysia....catch up area dekat Sumatra,Siam dan indochina...ni nak permainkan KLIA, nampak tak berani nak compete
dengan siam,sumatra,vietnam etc...

Kalau nak buat hospital baru, kenapa tak beli pulau jerjak..juga strategic untuk pesakit dari negeri-negeri yang tersebut.

Kalau susah sangat beli saja kat Penang.


Ataupun beli saja Hospital Mt elizabeth atau Glan eagle kat Singapura.. nampak macam pokai la kut ni..


Tetapi yang jelas SD ni asyik nak kebas harta rakyat!!!.NO WAY MAN.


Bila agaknya SD nak ada business think thank ni?...


Abu Bakar Ab Rahman

Anonymous said...

YBhg Datuk,

Saya nak tanya Datuk satu soalan dan saya berharap sangat Datuk akan menjawabnya dengan ikhlas. Were you convinced with Sime Darby's explanation, especially on LCCT and IJN?

Syed Munir Syed Al-Qadri

Against The Wind said...

Datuk,

The fact that SD invited well known bloggers for the dinner speaks positively on SD senior management.

We must remember they are not answerable to bloggers. As for all public listed companies they are only answerable to their shareholders which would be done via communication through Bursa Malaysia and MSM etc. etc.

The fact that SD drop the IJN project shows that they are sensitives to the views of the people. Mind you that IJN as a business venture is lucrative indeed.

Likewise selling land to whoever wants to develope the now scrap Labu LCCT would definitely maximize return to the shareholders.

After all its isn't the objective of any companies to create value and maximize return to the shareholders?

But then again this is Malaysia. Anything propose post PR12 is seen as another way of unscropulous UMNO leaders to make money for themselves, be it its government project or private iniative like SD.

BTW Tun Musa Hitam alone as chairman of SD does not have executive power to decide on direction of SD.

If one care to look at the composition of SD Board of Directors, one can see there are full of highly respected and qualified individuals among others Tan Sri Tajuddin Ali, Datuk Seri Sheng Lwn Tao, Raja Arshad Raja Tun Uda.

Its easy for us to say this and that but its definitely not easy to run a company that churn out RM30 billion turnover yearly and profits of more than RM3 billoin yearly. I'll give Ahmad Zubir and the teams the support they need to bring SD back to their glory days when Nik mohd Yaacob was the CEO when SD was only 1/3 of its size now.

Thank you

Anonymous said...

musa hitam ni ,mati hidup balik pun saya tak akan percaya!.kalau boleh, tulis ,sebut dan dengar pun saya tak mahu!.


corrigenda.

Anonymous said...

Ashraf Abdullah did a great job at Golden Hope. But when the merger happened, instead of making him the Head of Group PR, the Sime Darby management got an outsider (who had never done PR before to head the PR dept). That was the most stupid thing that they did, simply because they wanted to put Sime Darby people in all the strategic places. Now they are paying for their stupidity.

Ex-GHope Planter.

Anonymous said...

Datuk,

Tun Musa Hitam is a has-been politician whose ideas are old and outdated.

The chairmanship of Sime Darby should be given to a young, vibrant personality.

I thank God that Tun Musa was not made Chairman of Malaysia Airlines. If he was, MAS would be bankrupt by now.

I thank God that he did not become the Prime Minister of Malaysia. If he did, Malaysia would be bankrupt by now.

SIME SHAREHOLDER!

usabukata said...

datuk KJ

saya pernah kerja dengan sime darby. yang saya tahu ia adalah sebuah organisasi yang amat konservatif. tetapi dari segi perlaksanaan polisi ia amat jelas dan ketat. masa tu zaman tan sri nik.

saya kenal ceo sekarang dan pernah bertemu dan bercakap sedikit sebanyak. masa tu dia ceo sti. masa tu saya junior executive saja.

apa yang berlaku sekarang saya yakin kerana tangan-tangan luar organisasi yang cuba mengambil dan menggunakan peluang yang ada. bermula dengan penggabungan sd, gh dan kgb.

walau apapun lepas mac ini dan mulai april ini kita harap keadaan akan berubah.

Anonymous said...

Dato Kadir.

Apa yang you cakap dalam meeting dengan Boss Sime Darby.Kalau saya di jemput,saya akan minta supaya Allowance Tun Musa di kurangkan sadikit dari $100,000 ringgit ka $10,000 sahaja.Dengar kata Tun Musa di beri tugas untok menjaga Plntation Business of Sime Darby.Dengar kata dia nak minta Sime Darby bukan Plantation di Peru.Kampong halaman Maria,bekas isterinya.Plantation Sime Darby di Indonesia Kelam Kelibut.Kelang Kelapa sawiy ada tapi buat tak ada.Mana pi buah di kebun.

Jual minyak Kelapa sawit di Cina pun Sime Darby kena tipu.Zubir ia lah saorang accountant.Ia bukan enterprnuer macam Robert Kouk.Di Cina dia cuba memotong Robert Kouk yang sudah lama bertapak di Cina,dia kena tipu kiri kanan.

Saya sabagai pemegang saham PNB amat sedeh apa yang berlaku dengan Sime Darby.Sahamnya turun dari $13 ringgit menjadi $5.60 sen sahaja.PNB yang merupakan pemegang saham terbesar tiada ada kuasa untok melantek CEO dan board members.Semuanya di tentukan oleh PM Badewi.Bila saya tanya Pak Lah kenapa melantek TUN menjadi Chairman Sime Darby dan memberi nya allowance 100 ribu sabulan,dia kata Musa itu pandai orang nya dan kita nak kenang jasanya kapada Negara.Bula saya tanya Tun Mahathir,dia senyum sinis.

Kadir,you mempunyai Berita Publication,banyak kah dapat tempahan iklan dari Sime Darby dan anak2 syarikatnya.?

Samuel Goh Kim Eng said...

Public relations is not to be totally blamed
If poor management decision is made in the first place
Too late for fire fighting after issue has been flamed
With other matters being thrown in for problem to be displaced

(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 260209
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Thur. 26th Feb. 2009.

Anonymous said...

Dato Kadir.

Mereka taka jemput kah blogger Sime Watch .I tengok budak2 Sime Watch yang selalu siarkan berita sensasi dalam Sime.Nampak macam mereka ini bekas pekerja Sime yang kena buang salepas merger.Kerja zalim.

Anonymous said...

heran.. tak ada orang dari Sime watch dijemput?

Mereka ni yang sayangkan Sime ..dan pecahkan tembelang orang yang nak pelingkupkannya..

sawit futures trader said...

Salam Dato',

Merujuk kepada komen saya berkenaan usul DAP berkaitan lebuhraya PLUS.

Terkini, Malaysiakini melaporkan pengumuman kenaikan harga tol baru;

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/99105

Jelas pengambil alihan lebuhraya PLUS adalah perlu. Soalannya, adakah ia boleh dilakukan?

Anonymous said...

Scribe,

arn't they great:
Many issues and development concerning the conglomerate, its shareholders and the staff, including the controversies surrounding the aborted plans to purchase the National Heart Institute and the construction of a new low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) for AirAsia at KLIA were discussed.

They also explain the long-term philosophies and plans to make the company a major global player in plantation, engineering, properties development and natural resources extraction
.

and are they looking for a new Fox?

(glamourous bloggers shall bask in the sunshine too; but I think Sime Needs A Management Change - Starting From The Top - asap! Ameen
just as mukhriz knew when to let a good fast one fly! alhamdulillah)

Anonymous said...

Salam DAKJ

Baru saya paham kenapa Dato’ tersinggung bila baca komen-komen. Ramai yang hipokrit. Kata nak ikut Islam tapi sebenarnya ikut sedap hati. Dalam Islam kalau niat buat baik terus dapat pahala. Kalau niat buat jahat tapi tak buat, tak dapat dosa. Kalau lakukan juga baru dapat dosa.
Memang betul Sime Darby baru beri cadangan nak ambil alih IJN dan LCCT Labu tapi tak jadi. Ianya baru niat tapi tak buat pun, tapi komen-komen yang dibuat macam ianya dah dibuat dan menjadi kesalahan besar.
Lagi satu, benda yang lurus, kenapa pula nak difikir bengkok, banyak sangat syak wasangka dalam masyarakat kita, (makan atas mejalah, bawah mejalah)
Sabagai seorang Islam, kita patut ikutlah panduan yang digariskan dalam Al Quran bukan main ikut sedap hati je.
Maafkan je Sime Darby tu, bukannya susah sangat pun. TQ.

Unknown said...

Dato'

Your Dinner with Sime Darby looks more like how they intend to use a new spin doctor to put a better spin.

We have seen this scenario repeated again and again. A GLC Group MD goes off on a spending spree on the basis of Business Expansion....(As Dr Mahathir said, eventually Sime Darby will be in every business you can think of)
In the meantime Major or Substantial shareholders such as PNB, EPF and Tabung Haji have little to say about their investments in these GLCs.
Our local financial media should interview these institutions and grill them on their investments (be specific) and prod them on how much they know about each of the companies they are investing in. After all it's the Rakyat's money that is at stake.

Anonymous said...

lari topik kejap:

The BN Gomen really has no heart to up the toll rates during economic hardship.

The wise thing to do is to flip-flop on this at least untill 2010 where the economy is deem is to recover ( hopefully).

Haiya Dato Seri Najib don't tell me u also disconnected frm the "rakyat" maa....?

Be gentle and God Willing BN will rise, BE CRUEL and surely you will lose badly in the coming By Election and General Election.

What happened to ur smart advisers?

drmuzi

p/s: i remember during Dr M time in 1997/98 economic crises there is no increase in toll rates!

Anonymous said...

YBg Datuk,
Sime Darby since 1910 has been a conservative organisation, which has enable it to withstand ups and downs in the business world and has produces consistently admirable financial results over the years, except for one particular financial year. The conservative culture within SD was nutured over the years by its board of directors and senior management. This has help the conglomerate to face trying times over the years. It is unfortunate that SD at times was 'directed' by powers that be to take on certain business, eg Sime Bank and the poor CEO at that point in time, admitted that obviously SD is not good in banking. I am not surprise if SD are still being 'directed' to undertake certain venture as those highlighted, for reason best known to them to the 'directors'
To be fare to SD, they are quite publicity shy. Its not because of anything to hide but more importantly they just want to get on with their business(es)and operations and generate profit to shareholders. Those who have been in SD including yours truly can understand what the conglomerate stands for and what it focused to do. For those in SD, keep up the excellent work and keep the Malaysian flag flying in the international business arena.

marzuma

sawit futures trader said...

Salam Dato',

Blogger Sime Darby Watch was not invited to the dinner that you attend.

There was questions posted by him for Sime Darby Management just before his article on the dinner.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
MY CHALLENGES TO SIME DARBY MANAGEMENT...

I challenge Dato' Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid or Dato' Shukri Baharom to call for a Press conference and deny the following:

1. That there is no cost overrun in the Sime Darby Engineering and Qatar Petroleum project in Doha, Qatar amounting to RM800 million.

2. That Incobliss Consultancy Sdn Bhd was not appointed to collect the claims from Qatar Petroleum.

3. That the Prime Minister's assistance was not sought during his recent visit to Qatar to get the Qatari Government to help reduce the cost of the overrun.

Posted by SIME DARBY WATCH at 12:39 PM

http://simedarbywatch.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-challenges-to-sime-darby-management.html

My question to you Dato', did they offer explaination on any of the above issues?

mekyam said...

salam tok scribe,

nak menyampai nih [tapi tok mungkin dah tahu].

entri baru blog tok sakmongkol cakap pasal temubual dia dgn tun daim zed.

http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/

tok sak kata tok scribe pun timbul gak dlm perbualan mereka. tapi entry tu baru tahap pembuka selera, kena tunggu sambungan. :D

Anonymous said...


amoker said...
Datuk, isn't it too late to start thinking? They have outgrown others by perceived political manipulation and continue to get 'good projects'.. flexing their muscle. Don't blame on PR.. blame on the management. They are the ones who came out with the brilliant ideas. SD is now the symbol of capital greed in Malaysia.

btw, while they grow their plantations... it is not the size but the yield per acre. If they can cut less forest and increase the yield, i will solute them. They nearly bulldozed the orang asli settlement in Labu for LCCT.And with no major competitors to compare, doubt that serios work are done in that area. Show us results please. I hope the PR folk is reading this.

11:50 AM


Got orang asli meh? since when? probably just local indians settlements and some illegal indons. I think orang tak asli lah!

Anonymous said...

Datok
saya nak tanya perkara lain iaitu kenapa akhir ini saya perhatikan dalam siaran berita TV3 atau rtm amat jarang berita mengenai TS Muhyidin.agak kerap adalah Datok Ali Rustam dan TS Muhammad m Taib.saya yakin bahawa mereka yang dimuatkan dalam 5 minit pertama berita ,akan sentiasa mendapat kredit.sedangkan TS Muhyiden tiga kali iklan tak keluar-keluar pasal beliau atau kementeriannya.dan banyak lagi tokon lain semacam segaja ditenggelamkan.ada apa2 ke?bagi saya kalau betulpun nak menghadapi PAU pada mac ini,janganlah terok sangat.
sekian zmy

Anonymous said...

Datuk,

Does that means that they need better PR to defend all the future deals. Having said this, there will be more controversial deals, where they will get better PR to hide and spin and try to hide it from the people?
If you honest and professional in developing the country and the people, I don't think you need a good PR, as people will see it clearly. People nowadays are not stupid...

Anonymous said...

Anon Feb 26: 2.30pm/ex GHope planter

"Ashraf Abdullah did a great job at Golden Hope". Anybody can do a great job at GH lah. That is why SD "swallowed" you all. SD wanted all you "talented" and "hardworking" people.

Synergy Drive did a mapping exercise and discovered that Ashraf was better suited do something else (like politics or blogging) rather than be Head of Group Comm.

Also, HE did not want to be part of this merged entity he said. Maybe if Najib was PM he would la.

Group Conn Dept.

Anonymous said...

Datuk,
Saya rasa tak ramai pengikut blog yang minat hal seperti PR Sime ni...cuma kita nak ingatkan KALU PITIH BANYAK SANGAT BUAT LA PROGRAM-PROGRAM YANG DAPAT BANTU RAKYAT JELATA...tumpu la kpd tugas yg d beri(RASANYA ZON EKONOMI ,D UTARA SEMENANJONG,YG DS ANUAR JADI PENASIHAT PM) KENAPA NAK BUAT D LABU PULA? HOSPITAL JANTUNG PUN BOLEH BINA KAT NEGERI DATUK, walaupun tugas utama dalam bidang pertanian sbb pak tani dKedah,Penang,Perlis dan utara Perak pun agaknya ramai juga yang sakit jantung! wslam

samurai melayu said...

SALAM DAK
IZKINKAN,
BRADER INDIGO,
DAMAGES DONE TO THE BN/UMNO GOV'T!

PERHAPS THEY SHUD GO INTO THE PRODUCTION OF AN ANIMATED MOVIE ENTITLED 'CHARADE OF THE SLY FOXES' FEATURING THE 'MOOSE' VOICE-OVER BY MOSSES BLACK, DIRECTED BY NAYJOHN NAJIB AND PRODUCED BY DULLARD DOLLAH.

HA HA HA.

LAUGHTER IS STILL THE BEST MEDICINE.

HAVE A NICE WEEKEND.

ALFATIHAH, AMIN.

zainal mokhtar said...

It's damage control and in fact another pr exercise that's again backfiring.
The rationale given on IJN and Labu LCCT airport was just that, a rationalisation. If one looks at it seriously it becomes,in fact, an insult to one's intelligence.
The truth of the matter is wool was being pulled over our eyes.
Musa Hitam is not doing any service to Sime Darby and should accept responsibility for the debacle. If the words that spouted from his mouth were put there, he should have known better. If they were his, we all should have known better. He's just trying to be one up on his old nemisis, and the old fox absolutely knows better !

Unknown said...

it is always funny to see people who have no idea running a business commenting like they do.

but then again, what do i know about running a publicly listed, multi-billion, multi-industry conglomerate?

Old Fart said...

When valuable assets of the nation are managed by amateurs whose only experience has been in politics and the ability to make decisions on the strength of being able to push through anything without a care for accountability, it is worrying for the future generations.

Anyone with their finger on the pulse of the people would have known Sime Darby's attempts at IJN and Labu as being one of the most stupid and ill conceived public relations disasters one could ever imagine.

Now, Sime Darby is surely not led by idiots prone to making such infantile decisions. It was a PR disaster for Sime making everyone on the Sime Board look stupid.

Not only that. The Malaysian Cabinet too, led by Abdullah Badawi, must be looking very stupid indeed. They are supposed to be the ultimate "board", playing custodian to the nation's political, social and economic health. And yet, within a short duration of time, we see three major withdrawals or cancellation of Cabinet level decisions. IJN, Labu and most recently the toll hike.

And then you have Sime sacking Fox Communications which is run by known Abdullah Badawi favouring runners and cronies.

Obviously with Fox being discredited this way, any more spins they push out will be not as effective anymore.

Who gains in all this?

There has been talk that Badawi might want to hold on to the Prime Ministership post 31 March. To do that he has to have a lot of wind behind his sails.

Surely these three episodes would would have the effect of taking out the wind off any sail!!

Everyone suggests Badawi dances to the tune of his son and his son-in-law. Attacking them would be pointless. So maybe take the wind out of Badawi's sail. Taht might do it!

But is it enough?

If this was the play, and I am no political watcher or expert, and if I can come up with this spin, surely Badawi's men can come out with even more to put the wind right back behind the sail.

IJN and Labu were non starters. You don't plan to set out on a course of action without knowing what the feedback would be. Sime would seem to have wanted the feedback they got. One not enough, they did another number with Labu. Once again they were made out to look stupid. But was it they or the cabinet that looked stupid when in succession we saw the withdrawal of 2 cabinet decisions? Then the toll hike making it three.

Najib seems to be looking better and better each time...of course his reference point is Badawi!! Now, that is no match!!

Anonymous said...

Scribe,

do you think GM, Chrysler, Dodge -the american big three- need good PR? Do you think these car companies need a new product? Do you think the japanese auto manufacturers are on the same stand as their european and american counterparts? Saab has taken a fatal leak.

Or do the neocapitalists think economic blackmail is just good enough for a federal bailout dan stave of a depression?

Do you think Temasek's Chip Goodyear could put the shine back again to this singaporean government investing arm?

Do you think Sime has done a good job? Is it a matter of the heart or an economic question for the head?

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Indigo, among other things, said:

"Do you think Temasek's Chip Goodyear could put the shine back again to this singaporean government investing arm?"

1. Hmmmmm...the first foreigner was brought in when Temasek suffered huge investment losses;

2. Not not another Singaporean? Why? We were often told that Singaporeans are the best managers;

3. Is it to cover up the mistakes of the previous CEO?

4. Who was the previous CEO?

5. Or is it a way of telling Singaporeans that their government is doing the best to protect their interest?

6. Or they do not want another Singaporean to dig up the dirt left behind by you know who.

7. I don't know.

8. But our Khazanah too lost a lot of money. It is time for change?

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Dato'

Dah lama tak jumpa kat Sri Dewi (now Abirami). Hope you are enjoying good health.

Following Temasek's example, SD should be run by a foreigner. Baru depa tau.

Av8tor.

rm said...

Aah.....the comments generated here alone speak for themselves.
These randomly represent the opinions of the others out there.

Message to Sime Darby PRs if you are reading this blog: forget about damage control entertaining these bloggers a 9 course meal to explain your bad PRs. Whatever you do, we are the eyes and ears....

Tan Sri Musa...it is time to step down. You yourself made a statement to the bloggers (from Syed Akbar Ali's blog), you did not know how Fox Communications came to be appointed. That speaks volume for itself.....

About Me

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I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).