Yesterday
I was lucky enough to attend the Defences Services Asia 2016 Exhibition and
Conference (DSA 2016). What followed was a lesson in culture, events management
and the ever-changing nature of the news.
On
arrival our first responsibility was to organise the press. After they had
registered, we exchanged business cards – in Malaysia, business cards are
passed back and forth at the very beginning of a meeting and are given to
everyone. This makes a change from Australia where, for the most part, cards
are only given when asked for. Following this, we gave the journalists a press
kit, a running sheet and a small gift (gift-giving – known as buah tangan or ‘gift of the hands’ – is
another Malay custom) before ushering them into the conference room.
All
of this ran smoothly until shock! We realised we’d under estimated; the 36
journalist we’d accounted for suddenly multiplied into 72. Fear not, after some
a bit of improvising we recovered but it was certainly a lesson about thinking
on your feet.
Next
the VIP guests arrived, this included Datuk
Seri Hishammuddin Hussein Malaysia’s Minster of
Defense. Once he and his entourage were settled the exhibition commenced. Press
conference was held, awards were presented, videos were played and everything
was going to plan…
That
was, until a news story broke to shift the entire focus of the day. Najib Razak, Malaysia’s Prime
Minister, had sacked his Deputy. All of a sudden poor Hishammuddin Hussein was swamped by a tidal wave of reporters, scrambling over each other to
get a comment. He expertly fielded questions and then swiftly left to deal with
the political fall-out.
 |
| 28/07/15: Malaysia's Minister for Defence, Hishammuddin Hussein, surrounded by press following cabinet re-shuffle |
After
months of planning and hours of setting up, our event was foreshadowed by one
decision made in a distant cabinet room. The next day DSA 2016 received press
coverage, but it was minimal and always in conjunction with the cabinet
re-shuffle.
All
of this is just proof that you can organise a newsworthy event down to the nth
degree, but the media machine can have other ideas about its importance.
1 comment:
Hi Molly,
Some really great insight here into the cultural differences between Malaysia and Australia and the way they do business. In public relations being able to quickly think on your feet and come out of a situation on the other side is essential, great to see you got to experience doing this first hand. During my internship I didn't have to face any unexpected events occurring, so it was interesting to read how you handled the situation and managed to overcome something you couldn't control.
Good luck for the rest of the semester!
Esther.
Post a Comment