Lim Guan Eng's response to the so-called boycott of non-Bumiputera product campaign came off as different messages to be disseminated to different language media.
Hard on the English media but softer on the Malay media. Did he hired a PR agency for this conflicting messages?
PR agency is in the strange "persuasion business". According to Forbes.com:
PR can be used to protect, enhance or build reputations through the media, social media, or self-produced communications. A good PR practitioner will analyze the organization, find the positive messages and translate those messages into positive stories.Of late, PR agency seemed to be wrongly used from the usual practise create positive image and brand for the client and cause
Last week, Datin Wan Norhiyati Wan Ibrahim (Yati) organised an interview for Dato Zukri for his last day at Tabung Haji. Rocky Bru's response on Tweeter was amusing: Tell me if it it's not a case of "angkat bakul sendiri"!
The Malay idiom is "isi bakul angkat sendiri" (filling up one's basket and lifting it oneself). Is there no third party to say it on their behalf or confirm his denial?
Zukri's right to reply
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| PR agency selected image for Sinar Harian |
It is fair to only give him the right to reply.
Unless it is a case of "perasan" (false sense of importance), it was obviously to reply this blog. Reproduced from The Mole HERE, his parting interview below:
Outgoing Tabung Haji boss sure the worst is over
By Syndicated News
KUALA LUMPUR — Aug. 30, 2019: The worst is over for Lembaga Tabung Haji as the turnaround plan to stabilise the fund has started to show results.
In this regard, the new management has been able to reduce the risk of a run on the fund and to restore its balance sheet.
Outgoing managing director and CEO) Datuk Seri Zukri Samat noted that a systemic risk would have happened if the turnaround had not taken place.
“The worst is over. Tabung Haji is now moving forward. We have subtracted the bad assets and so on. I told the Prime Minister’s Office it is time for me to go. TH’s excess over liability stands at more than RM1 billion.
“I have created a reserve account. During good days, you do not distribute all your profits. You keep some in the reserve. TH had no reserve before but now it has about RM400 million,” Zukri told Bernama in an interview.
Zukri, who was appointed to steer the fund’s turnaround in July last year, will make an early exit from TH due to health reasons. He will be succeeded by Nik Mohd. Hasyudeen Yusoff effective September 1.
TH recorded a stronger financial performance in the first half of 2019, underpinned by a sustainable investment strategy and prudent cost management measures.
The fund recorded RM1.3 billion in revenue due to its sustainable investment strategy and prudent cost management measures.
“I did not expect the situation was that bad. When I moved in, we looked at the issues and the whole situation was much worse than we thought. People talked about bad investments in TH Engineering and such.
“In reality there was much more to that. What is more shocking is basically the revelation by the PwC report when the new leadership came on board,” he said.
Zukri was referring to a PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report which revealed that TH had failed to recognise RM549 million in impairment losses on investments in several associate companies and subsidiaries.
The report came after the 2017 Auditor-General’s Report disclosed that the fund’s board had failed to report an asset impairment totalling RM227.81 million from its investment in three subsidiaries and three associates, including a RM164.58 million investment in TH Heavy Engineering.
“When we saw all the reports coming from PwC, the board felt that we got to check on this. When we came in, even though the accounts for 2017 had been done, it had yet to be signed off.,” said Zukir.No denial from Daim
PwC was appointed to relook at the whole thing.
The financial distress of TH was further aggravated by the weakening of the stock market in 2018, leading to a bigger deficit of RM10 billion as at last December 31 from RM4.1 billion a year earlier, as well as the adoption of a new accounting policy in the same year.
“Based on that accounting policy, certain provisions had to be made in some of the investments. Because of that we were short by RM10 billion,” said Zukri.
Under Zukri’s leadership, TH managed to clean up its balance sheet following years of accumulated deficits which led to illegal dividend payments to depositors since 2014.
“Our biggest task at the moment is how do we to make sure that we restore the balance sheet so that we are in the position to pay, not only for 2018 but also in the future,” he said.
TH announced a hibah of 1.25 per cent to its depositors for the 2018 financial year amounting to a total payout of RM913mil for 9.3 million depositors.
Zukri also rubbished the perceptions that he was pressured to step down.
“There are a lot of perceptions in the market, which we can’t stop. Some say that I am a non-performer — that is why the government possibly takes me out and also there are perceptions that Tun Daim (Tun Daim Zainuddin, ex-chairman of the Council of Elders) is impatient towards what happened in Tabung Haji.
“I am not trying to be sour grapes but even my achievements in Bank Islam were also being questioned. But you see the bank is going from strength to strength,” he pointed out.
Prior to his appointment at TH, Zukri was CEO of BIMB Holdings and MD of Bank Islam for over a decade.
The allegation he was dropped by Tun Daim have been repeatedly denied but why no statement from Daim or PMO, to the least to confirm.
Not only, it is "isi bakul angkat sendiri", it is also a case "isi bakul tapi tak boleh angkat" (filling up basket but cannot be lifted).
A denial left unconfirmed has no credibility. Yati should know better than doing a Goebbel repeatition.
On Zukri's claim, how could the worse be over when ...
"The point remain, did he really resolve the issues or just shoved it under the carpet and show a clean house. The issues simply being transferred to SPV. With the current share market, SPV assets definitely much worse than before plus there are still no cash payment to Taung Haji. Its just a paper sale." - Anonymous Chartered AccountantHow could he claim to have RM400 million in the reserve account when profit is hard to get by for last year, this year and most likely next year?
More so, the second quarter result 2019 declined from first quarter.
It only confirmed this blog suspicion that Zukri and Zaiton did an excessive kitchen sinking to by over providing the loss to enable some profit be shown for 2019.
Zukri claimed 2019 result thus far is based on "sustainable investment strategy and prudent cost management measures".
What strategy is he talking when it resembled a Money Market Desk in Maybank's Money Market and Foreign Exchange Trading Room?
Despite hardly able to trade in the market, Dato Zaiton Hassan was once the Manager there. Yati used to be in Maybank too to do PR.
Her past employment at BNM led both of them be enfant terrible pair in Bank Islam, Tabung Haji and now Bank Pembangunan with their negative PR, and repeated use of blame game.
Their Modus Operandi is to make police report, suspend targetted staff or Manager from work, and get police or sometime MACC to investigate.
Quite often than not, it will turn up nothing and they will pay Skrine & Co in the millions to institute civil suit on the unfortunate staff and management being picked on. Naturally, they are made to suffer further with bankruptcy.
One wonders as to why the millions paid when the staff and management are already broke to hire reputable lawyer to defend themselves in court. Since MACC already started investigating corrupted DPP and judges, why not go after lawyers i.e. officer of the court?
Guan Eng's set-up for blame game
By the look and the way Guan Eng is quoted on Malay media to ask for UMNO and PAS to stop the negative campaign but went hard to blame UMNO and PAS as racist on English media, it is only indicate he is up to something.
Blame game is likely in his mind
The boycott campaign are merely the work of individuals on Social Media. There have been many campaigns like against chicken farmers for burning chicks, various international brands linked to Israel, etc, but it has never worked.
The campaign is positive as it was kick start in April by UMMAH and Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia to support Muslim product.
Before GE14, a PPBM supporting Halal Food manufacturer campaigned for a Halalaan Toyyiba status with a HALAL MUSLIM label.
One can go earlier to 7 years ago when Chinese shopkeepers discriminated against Gardenia.
No big deal actually. It is open secret that Chinese shopkeers have been boycotting Malay manufactured products from their shops or shelves in supermarket.
But, Malays are not complaining on Chinese supporting Chinese producers.
For that matter, the Kelantanis community and businessmen outside Kelantan have made been supporting orhe dio for outsurcing and supplies.
The campaign only took a turn for the negative when Tun Dr Mahathir and Dato Seri Redzuan Yusof slammed the boycott call on social media.
In view of Saifuddin Nasution claim, the boycott will have no impact, Guan Eng's response seemed suspicious.
It is only indicative the Menteri Kewayangan is up to something dishonest, manipulative and naturally another kewayangan.
Heard over the grapevine that he hired a PR agency to do his dirty politics misinformation to attack UMNO and PAS.
At the rate moronic statements, policies and ideas coming out from each and every individual PH Minister, it will not be surprising that the agency is hired by Guan Eng to blame UMNO and PAS for the economic slowdown deteriorating to a systemic failure.
Was Yati's PR firm, WHM Network Sdn Bhd hired by Guan Eng for this?