The Qatar Mission
I went on an assignment to Doha, Qatar in June 2003. My assignment was to handle media management for our signing ceremony for a construction of a college of technology, and to accompany Malaysian journalists, Nor and Arul, who were specially brought to cover the event. My job was also to manage speech, press releases and media registration, and ensure safe handling of souvenirs for the client from Kuala Lumpur to Doha.
On the same trip, I was also accompanying my company's Chairman, our Division President, and our Project Director.
Sunday, June 22:
I met with Arul and Nor at KL Sentral, at 9:00 p.m. and helped them check-in their tickets and luggage and distributed boarding passes. Having done all that, I gave them a short briefing on the trip. The main objective is, of course, to get a good media coverage for UEM Group.
Our flight was delayed, so I bought dinner for them, too, at The Chicken Rice Shop in KL Sentral - their choice. Only at 10:00 p.m. we boarded the KLIA Express to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It took just 28 minutes, and we boarded our flight at 11:30 p.m. Fortunately, I got a seat next to both Arul and Nor, so I got a good chance to be friends with them. Arul is funny and chatty, and Nor is serious and quiet.
Our flight to Doha, Qatar was tiring - 15 hrs of flight in an economy class with a 5 hour stop over in Dubai. Nothing much to do during my transit in Dubai but shopping and I don't have much money to shop. Branded goods are much cheaper in Dubai, so it would be nice if I have lots of money to spend.
While in transit, we made acquaintance with a fellow countryman, Jamil Ahmad, who is an attache with the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan. The cafe we had coffee at was expensive, yet it was probably the cheapest place to be at Dubai Airport. Nevertheless, it was panoramic - I see so many beautiful women, whom I was told by Jamil that some of them are prostitutes, many coming poorer European countries, and their flesh trade goes across international borders.
As I slowly chewed on my sandwich and sipped my espresso, I watched them solicit clients. The interesting thing is they looked so not-hooker-like dressed that they don't like the hookers I saw on TV. Very much like Julia Roberts' character in the movie, "Pretty Woman" when she was all dressed up decently, as opposed to the character played by her fellow hooker house mate (I forgot her name).
Monday, 23 June 2003:
With good company and interesting conversation, five hours seem to breeze by easily before we boarded the flight to Doha. From Dubai to Doha is just over an hour, and I sat next to a Lebanese woman from Beirut. It was interesting to learn about Beirut from her.
We arrived in Qatar around 10:00 in the morning, and yet, it was very very hot, it was 50^C. Strong hot wind, like having hot air hairdryer blown at me just as I stepped out of the plane into a bus that ferried us to the airport terminal.
At the airport, we have to apply and pay for the visa right there and then. I think it cost some QR 150 or QR165. I helped Nor and Arul with their visa application, currency exchange and baggage claim. The project director, Sue, was kind enough to show me how to go about things - I was glad.
We were greeted by our Qatar Office's Project Manager, Joe, a friendly Scot, and our COO, James and scooted off to Doha Marriot Hotel and checked in by 11:00 a.m.
After making sure that Nor and Arul are checked into their own rooms, and comfortably accomodated, I went to meet the photographer to brief him on angles. Then, I met with the hotel's arrogant and unfriendly Banquet Manager and briefed her on how I want the media registration arrangements to be.
After the briefings, I consulted with Joe, James, Sue and the Division President, who verified information in speech, news release and frequently asked questions. Finally, at 1:00 p.m., I accompanied Arul and Nor for lunch at the hotel. There was not enough time to eat out.
By 2:30 p.m., I was prolifically revising the Chairman's speech, our news release and frequently asked questions and assembling press kits for Malaysian, Qatar and regional media representatives. At the same time, arranging with the very helpful hotel’s gift shop owner, a Filipino lady, to decorate souvenirs for client.
By 6:00 p.m. I was ready with all my press kits, and I gave a set of press kit each to Nor and Arul so they get a headstart earlier from the regional media. Which they were grateful for. By 6:45 p.m., my media registration desk was ready.
I found out there are only two English language media and three Arabic language media in Qatar. For the signing ceremony, all the Qatar media and some of the regional media turned up. Besides Bernama and Business Times, 12 media representatives from six media houses were present from Gulf Times, The Peninsula, Al-Sharq, Al-Hayat, AFP and Al-Raya.
Nor, Arul and Naliza
The signing ceremony started at 7:30 p.m, followed by speeches, exchange of documents and press conference, and everything was done so quickly and by 8:00 p.m. dinner was served. The guests and gourmet feast looked so lavish that Arul and Nor didn't want to join the dinner, as the regional media was not invited either, and the banquet looked so lavish with 25 course-meal.
So, to spare ourselves of the uneasiness, we decided to eat out, and walk the city as far as our feet can take us. Fortunately, Nor has a friend who works in an advertising agency in Doha, and we met her for dinner that night.
We went to a Chinese restaurant not far from Doha Marriot, which featured lousy live performance by Filipino singers, and the food was just manageable, but cost a bomb. Nevertheless, we had a good time, making new friends. I enjoyed myself although I was too tired I could easily fall asleep while walking.
By 11:30 p.m., we were back at Doha Marriott, and I met with the photographer to get photographs and digital images for our Malaysian news release, and for Nor and Arul to use in their feature stories. I was also busy emailing the final version of our news release, speech, frequently asked questions and selected digital images to Group Corporate Communications in Kuala Lumpur.
Tuesday, 24 June 2003
When I woke up just before 7:00 a.m., Nor was already busy typing away at her laptop. Later at about 9:30 a.m. Arul knocked on our room door to borrow the internet connection that I have requested. So, I assisted them in sending their stories and selected digital images to their respective offices via email.
By 10:00 a.m., we were having breakfast at the coffee house overlooking the swimming pool and the ocean. Nor said she wanted to see the sites, so I brought her and Arul to our project sites. Later I found out she meant the sights. What a bummer!
After the trip to the project sites, I took them shopping at the malls and the souk (indoor bazaar). Things are terribly expensive there (mostly branded items). Even food is very expensive - I only managed to do window shopping and bought some pistachio dates and Celine Eau de Parfum (which is on promotion) for my mom, at the malls, and bought some dates and nougats at the souk.
Our designated escort told me, there are more men than women in Qatar, like 4:1 ratio. But most of them are foreign workers from India, Myanmar, Philippines and Indonesia, and technical professionals from India hired by American, European and Malaysian companies. So there goes my hope in finding some good looking rich Qatari men, hehehehe.
He said, the Qataris have too much money, so little to do. They just eat, sleep and shop, besides counting royalties and commissions from businesses run by foreigners under their names.
Even though Qatar is a relatively small country, only 50 miles wide and 100 miles from north to south (4,400 square miles of land), it is regarded as an economic, cultural, political, information and educational regional hub of the Middle East. Rich in oil and natural gas, Qatar is one of the wealthiest nations and emerging as the Arab world’s most revolutionary nation.
So, I assumed they must have so many fat Qataris per capita!
With extensive and high-speed development in infrastructure, education, politics, oil and gas and trade and finance, Qatar led the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 2000, hosted the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Conference in 2001, and will be hosting the Asian Games in 2006.
UEM Group is fortunate to be part of a significant milestone in Qatar’s education sector development through this project. With the construction of the College of Technology Bid Package #2, 3,200 Qatari students will be given unprecedented access to modern ideas and opportunities in areas of Engineering Technology, Information Technology, Business Management, Academic Preparation and Health Sciences provided by the State of Qatar, the Canadian Bureau of International Education and the College of North Atlantic.
Anyways, we had an early dinner at 5:00 p.m. at an Indian restaurant and had the best Briyani I have ever tasted, eaten with yogurt vegetables and pickles and chicken tandoori. By 6:00 p.m. we are already on our way to Doha Marriot to get ready our luggage so we leave by 7:00 p.m. to Doha Aiport.
Hotel concierge was late in collecting luggage, as wrong room number was conveyed by the reception. As a result, I was about 15 minutes late from the scheduled hotel check out of 6:30 p.m. and the Chairman and Division President happened to be early by 15 minutes, to make matters worse. Murphy's Law - when it rains, it pours!
We finally boarded the flight at 10:30 p.m. as the flight was delayed. I sat in the same row of Indonesian maids, who were talking very loudly. After half an hour, I asked to be moved to another seat closer to Nor and Arul. I sat next to a Yemeni man, Riyadh, whom I became friends with over the 7 hours flight home to Kuala Lumpur. Riyadh lives in Malaysia, anyways.
Wednesday, 25 June 2003
Upon arrival in KLIA at 10:45,a.m. I made sure that Nor and Arul's transportation arrangements are in order – arranged and paid for Nor's airport taxi and Arul’s KLIA Express ticket, and sent him personally to Puduraya Bus Station where he boarded bus to Ipoh, Perak.
Mission accomplished - with a margin of error!
Epilogue
.........
This is the first time for me in carrying out such assignments and I believe that I have done my best in carrying out my duties and we have achieved our main objective of getting a good and positive media coverage and in ensuring all assigned tasks were carried out.
While I did my best, and strive to get things right the first time, they must also allow an acceptable margin for human error and as practice makes perfect, this provides room for future improvement.
I am glad that the signing ceremony received good news coverage by the media, including Bernama, Business Times, Gulf Times. Business Times published our story on its front page with Datuk Abu Hassan Kendut’s picture displayed prominently. Gulf Times ran a half page story on a prominent page with picture of the exchanging of documents.
I have also received greetings / inquiries emails from media in Qatar from my media networking initiative, in view of future projects that UEM Group may be securing in Qatar and the Middle East region.
On the same trip, I was also accompanying my company's Chairman, our Division President, and our Project Director.
Sunday, June 22:
I met with Arul and Nor at KL Sentral, at 9:00 p.m. and helped them check-in their tickets and luggage and distributed boarding passes. Having done all that, I gave them a short briefing on the trip. The main objective is, of course, to get a good media coverage for UEM Group.
Our flight was delayed, so I bought dinner for them, too, at The Chicken Rice Shop in KL Sentral - their choice. Only at 10:00 p.m. we boarded the KLIA Express to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It took just 28 minutes, and we boarded our flight at 11:30 p.m. Fortunately, I got a seat next to both Arul and Nor, so I got a good chance to be friends with them. Arul is funny and chatty, and Nor is serious and quiet.
Our flight to Doha, Qatar was tiring - 15 hrs of flight in an economy class with a 5 hour stop over in Dubai. Nothing much to do during my transit in Dubai but shopping and I don't have much money to shop. Branded goods are much cheaper in Dubai, so it would be nice if I have lots of money to spend.
While in transit, we made acquaintance with a fellow countryman, Jamil Ahmad, who is an attache with the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan. The cafe we had coffee at was expensive, yet it was probably the cheapest place to be at Dubai Airport. Nevertheless, it was panoramic - I see so many beautiful women, whom I was told by Jamil that some of them are prostitutes, many coming poorer European countries, and their flesh trade goes across international borders.
As I slowly chewed on my sandwich and sipped my espresso, I watched them solicit clients. The interesting thing is they looked so not-hooker-like dressed that they don't like the hookers I saw on TV. Very much like Julia Roberts' character in the movie, "Pretty Woman" when she was all dressed up decently, as opposed to the character played by her fellow hooker house mate (I forgot her name).
Monday, 23 June 2003:
With good company and interesting conversation, five hours seem to breeze by easily before we boarded the flight to Doha. From Dubai to Doha is just over an hour, and I sat next to a Lebanese woman from Beirut. It was interesting to learn about Beirut from her.
We arrived in Qatar around 10:00 in the morning, and yet, it was very very hot, it was 50^C. Strong hot wind, like having hot air hairdryer blown at me just as I stepped out of the plane into a bus that ferried us to the airport terminal.
At the airport, we have to apply and pay for the visa right there and then. I think it cost some QR 150 or QR165. I helped Nor and Arul with their visa application, currency exchange and baggage claim. The project director, Sue, was kind enough to show me how to go about things - I was glad.
We were greeted by our Qatar Office's Project Manager, Joe, a friendly Scot, and our COO, James and scooted off to Doha Marriot Hotel and checked in by 11:00 a.m.
After making sure that Nor and Arul are checked into their own rooms, and comfortably accomodated, I went to meet the photographer to brief him on angles. Then, I met with the hotel's arrogant and unfriendly Banquet Manager and briefed her on how I want the media registration arrangements to be.
After the briefings, I consulted with Joe, James, Sue and the Division President, who verified information in speech, news release and frequently asked questions. Finally, at 1:00 p.m., I accompanied Arul and Nor for lunch at the hotel. There was not enough time to eat out.
By 2:30 p.m., I was prolifically revising the Chairman's speech, our news release and frequently asked questions and assembling press kits for Malaysian, Qatar and regional media representatives. At the same time, arranging with the very helpful hotel’s gift shop owner, a Filipino lady, to decorate souvenirs for client.
By 6:00 p.m. I was ready with all my press kits, and I gave a set of press kit each to Nor and Arul so they get a headstart earlier from the regional media. Which they were grateful for. By 6:45 p.m., my media registration desk was ready.
I found out there are only two English language media and three Arabic language media in Qatar. For the signing ceremony, all the Qatar media and some of the regional media turned up. Besides Bernama and Business Times, 12 media representatives from six media houses were present from Gulf Times, The Peninsula, Al-Sharq, Al-Hayat, AFP and Al-Raya.
Nor, Arul and Naliza
The signing ceremony started at 7:30 p.m, followed by speeches, exchange of documents and press conference, and everything was done so quickly and by 8:00 p.m. dinner was served. The guests and gourmet feast looked so lavish that Arul and Nor didn't want to join the dinner, as the regional media was not invited either, and the banquet looked so lavish with 25 course-meal.
So, to spare ourselves of the uneasiness, we decided to eat out, and walk the city as far as our feet can take us. Fortunately, Nor has a friend who works in an advertising agency in Doha, and we met her for dinner that night.
We went to a Chinese restaurant not far from Doha Marriot, which featured lousy live performance by Filipino singers, and the food was just manageable, but cost a bomb. Nevertheless, we had a good time, making new friends. I enjoyed myself although I was too tired I could easily fall asleep while walking.
By 11:30 p.m., we were back at Doha Marriott, and I met with the photographer to get photographs and digital images for our Malaysian news release, and for Nor and Arul to use in their feature stories. I was also busy emailing the final version of our news release, speech, frequently asked questions and selected digital images to Group Corporate Communications in Kuala Lumpur.
Tuesday, 24 June 2003
When I woke up just before 7:00 a.m., Nor was already busy typing away at her laptop. Later at about 9:30 a.m. Arul knocked on our room door to borrow the internet connection that I have requested. So, I assisted them in sending their stories and selected digital images to their respective offices via email.
By 10:00 a.m., we were having breakfast at the coffee house overlooking the swimming pool and the ocean. Nor said she wanted to see the sites, so I brought her and Arul to our project sites. Later I found out she meant the sights. What a bummer!
After the trip to the project sites, I took them shopping at the malls and the souk (indoor bazaar). Things are terribly expensive there (mostly branded items). Even food is very expensive - I only managed to do window shopping and bought some pistachio dates and Celine Eau de Parfum (which is on promotion) for my mom, at the malls, and bought some dates and nougats at the souk.
Our designated escort told me, there are more men than women in Qatar, like 4:1 ratio. But most of them are foreign workers from India, Myanmar, Philippines and Indonesia, and technical professionals from India hired by American, European and Malaysian companies. So there goes my hope in finding some good looking rich Qatari men, hehehehe.
He said, the Qataris have too much money, so little to do. They just eat, sleep and shop, besides counting royalties and commissions from businesses run by foreigners under their names.
Even though Qatar is a relatively small country, only 50 miles wide and 100 miles from north to south (4,400 square miles of land), it is regarded as an economic, cultural, political, information and educational regional hub of the Middle East. Rich in oil and natural gas, Qatar is one of the wealthiest nations and emerging as the Arab world’s most revolutionary nation.
So, I assumed they must have so many fat Qataris per capita!
With extensive and high-speed development in infrastructure, education, politics, oil and gas and trade and finance, Qatar led the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 2000, hosted the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Conference in 2001, and will be hosting the Asian Games in 2006.
UEM Group is fortunate to be part of a significant milestone in Qatar’s education sector development through this project. With the construction of the College of Technology Bid Package #2, 3,200 Qatari students will be given unprecedented access to modern ideas and opportunities in areas of Engineering Technology, Information Technology, Business Management, Academic Preparation and Health Sciences provided by the State of Qatar, the Canadian Bureau of International Education and the College of North Atlantic.
Anyways, we had an early dinner at 5:00 p.m. at an Indian restaurant and had the best Briyani I have ever tasted, eaten with yogurt vegetables and pickles and chicken tandoori. By 6:00 p.m. we are already on our way to Doha Marriot to get ready our luggage so we leave by 7:00 p.m. to Doha Aiport.
Hotel concierge was late in collecting luggage, as wrong room number was conveyed by the reception. As a result, I was about 15 minutes late from the scheduled hotel check out of 6:30 p.m. and the Chairman and Division President happened to be early by 15 minutes, to make matters worse. Murphy's Law - when it rains, it pours!
We finally boarded the flight at 10:30 p.m. as the flight was delayed. I sat in the same row of Indonesian maids, who were talking very loudly. After half an hour, I asked to be moved to another seat closer to Nor and Arul. I sat next to a Yemeni man, Riyadh, whom I became friends with over the 7 hours flight home to Kuala Lumpur. Riyadh lives in Malaysia, anyways.
Wednesday, 25 June 2003
Upon arrival in KLIA at 10:45,a.m. I made sure that Nor and Arul's transportation arrangements are in order – arranged and paid for Nor's airport taxi and Arul’s KLIA Express ticket, and sent him personally to Puduraya Bus Station where he boarded bus to Ipoh, Perak.
Mission accomplished - with a margin of error!
Epilogue
.........
This is the first time for me in carrying out such assignments and I believe that I have done my best in carrying out my duties and we have achieved our main objective of getting a good and positive media coverage and in ensuring all assigned tasks were carried out.
While I did my best, and strive to get things right the first time, they must also allow an acceptable margin for human error and as practice makes perfect, this provides room for future improvement.
I am glad that the signing ceremony received good news coverage by the media, including Bernama, Business Times, Gulf Times. Business Times published our story on its front page with Datuk Abu Hassan Kendut’s picture displayed prominently. Gulf Times ran a half page story on a prominent page with picture of the exchanging of documents.
I have also received greetings / inquiries emails from media in Qatar from my media networking initiative, in view of future projects that UEM Group may be securing in Qatar and the Middle East region.
posted by Penglipur Lara at
1:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home