Unspun

Unspun’s traveling so a short post.

The implosion continues, according to Unspun’s grapevine. An international consultancy that does PA/PR - meaning it makes its money doing PR and some lobbying — in Indonesia, today sacked two of its directors. And the Asia CEO is questioning the managing director here about whether he is running a tight ship or what.

The firm’s problems started more than a year ago when the MD left for a neighboring country. The MD that took over was fired for questionable practices. During that time many consultants also left the company. In one classic case four of the consultants tendered their resignations on the same day, nothing too unremakable, except that it was on the same single letter of resignation.

Since then the company has been struggling. They’ve been sacked by many clients, including a newly launched telco. The firm tried to recruit a corporate figure to restore some semblance of order and professionalism, but in its haste picked someone with no prior experience in public relations or public affairs and bereft of youthful energy - the executive was retired recently.

Today things look like they are coming to a head as the firm sacked two of its directors for questionable practices and, Unspun’s been told, they are now grilling the new MD on what value he has brought to the firm.

To be fair to the new MD, its not entirely his fault really, he was an inappropriate candidate to begin with and whoever in regional chose him ought to bear some of the responsibility. The MD, however, did accept the package offered and heavy is the head that wears the crown so must do a few mea culpas too.

Was at both the the Presidential Lecture at the Jakarta Convention Center and the Government Leaders Forum at Shangri-la Hotel. At both functions both Bill Gates and President SBY spoke. Bill was, of course, interesting for his insights and some of the cool things they were doing with software like an astronomy internet application to be launched later this month. It’s like Google earth, except that its about the stars. The clever thing was that people could go in and conduct tours of the heavens and then safe them. gates then showed a tour conducted by a six year old of a ring nebula. All very cute. Social network meets Google Space.

Craig Mundie, who was asked by Bill to present some ideas in medicine also had some cool stuff to show. He said personal healthcare of the future could be such: if you feel ill you blow into your handphone of the future which, because it is linked by the Net to some super duper computers that analyze what’s wrong with you. Super compute then sends you your prescription on your handphone. You take your handphone to the nearest dispenser, which could be in remote Papua or anywhere else, you dowload your prescription to the dispenser, which is nothing more than a laser printer of the future. The only difference is that instead of ink what the dispenser does is to print formulas of medicines onto tabs on a flat sheet of paper. The medication rolls off the printer and you break off a tab at prescribed times and put it in your mouth.

Sounds neat and most of the technology is there, but apparently humankind still cannot do all that yet.

Then there was President SBY. Participants at the two functions who has seen the President speak in English a couple of years before were struck by how fluent he has become this time around. His pronounciation was good 98% of the time, he seemed much at ease in English and he came across well. Much less stilted as before. Whomever is coaching the President certainly deserves a pat on the back and Indonesians should be proud of a president that takes pains to improve himself (OK, the next thing he has to work on is the speed of his decision making but, as they say in the movie Contact…Baby Steps).

Disclosure: Unspun’s company helped handle the PR surrounding the GLF and Bill G’s visit but its not in the work scope that Unspun has to blog about the event. This is a purely personal choice.

Jakarta’s soon-to-be-declared ’s English-language newspaper war has just got more interesting with the Jakarta Globe’s appointment of Bhimanto Suwastoyo, a 23 veteran journalist at AFP Jakarta as the paper’s Deputy Chief Editor. Bhim will pull equal weight as the other Deputy Chief Editor Joe Cochrane (who apparently may be tying the knot soon if little birds in Face Bar are to be believed).

By signing Bhim on, the Jakarta Globe may finally begin to get some respect from media observers here who were wondering whether the paper would be stuffed with bules who may have excellent technical skills but not the necessary the insight and perspective of an Indoneian.

Unspun’s known the 52-year old Bhim for more than a decade and he must rank as one of the mot knowledgeable, articulate and open minded journalists in Indonesia. Bhim speaks French ad a sprinkling of European languages frequently because he spent his younger days in Europe (then becoming an architect before moving into journalism).

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This one has been making the rounds in email chains and mean for those who can appreciate the crude genius of the Antipodean

It is a portion of an ABC interview between a female broadcaster and General Cosgrove who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military headquarters.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
So, General Cosgrove, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?

GENERAL COSGROVE:
We’re going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery and shooting.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
Shooting! That’s a bit irresponsible, isn’t it?

GENERAL COSGROVE:
I don’t see why, they’ll be properly supervised on the rifle range.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
Don’t you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?

GENERAL COSGROVE:
I don’t see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER:
But you’re equipping them to become violent killers.

GENERAL COSGROVE:
Well, Ma’am, you’re equipped to be a prostitute, but you’re not one, are you?

The radio went silent and the interview ended.

Malaysians were aghast when they learned that Sufiah Yusof, Malaysia’s child maths genius who was accepted at Oxford when she was 12 had turned into a hooker.

Unspun’s usually unreliable, and late, sources now tell of a move by top government officials to help her manager her sex overdrive. They’ve pointed Unspun to an unattributed news report being quoted in this newsgroup that Unspun, in all his naivity, innocence and trusting nature thinks is true:

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 - Malaysian ministers, deputy
ministers, and other bureaucrats are making a beeline
to London to help maths-genius-turned-hooker, Sufiah,
with her high sex drive.

The former and current Ministers of Health have
released a joint statement saying, “We believe that we
can understand Sufiah’s positions better and, maybe,
let her know our positions as well by having a
face-to-face meeting with her. We understand that sex
is essential to good health and as the current and
former health ministers, we believe that no one can
provide Sufiah with better health education. Anyway, a
high sex drive is not uncommon and we look forward to
helping Sufiah with her problem, together, if
necessary.”

The Education Minister and his cousin, the DPM, are
also traveling to London to meet Sufiah.
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