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Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR.
MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE SHERATON IMPERIAL HOTEL
KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 22/06/99
Tajuk/Title : THE WORLDWIDE PARTNERS' 1999
ANNUAL WORLD MEETING
I would like to start by acknowledging the
presence of your current Chairman, Mickey Gallivan,
your President, Patricia Fiske, your immediate Past-
Chairman and Host, Austen Zecha, who we recognise as
your esteemed network's first-ever Chairman from Asia
during his term of office last year. And of course all
of other members of your Board of Directors who
represent the different regions of this world, to make
you, as I understand, not only the oldest but also the
largest network of independent and owner-managed
advertising agencies ever. I salute the
entrepreneurial spirit and successes of all your
agencies as I have always been a long-time proponent of
entrepreneurialism among Malaysian organisations.
2. I am delighted indeed to be able to be here today
as you begin Worldwide Partners World Meeting 1999, and
to try and share with you my thoughts on what your
profession and industry mean to me. I may be
Malaysia's Prime Minister for the past 18 years, some
of course say for far too long already, but I have been
a consumer for a lot longer than that. So like most
people I have been both a beneficiary as well as, at
times, a victim of your profession.
3. The very fact that Malaysia, and the Asian region,
have been going through the most difficult and
challenging economic period in their history gives this
timely meeting of yours -- and my privilege to address
you today -- even greater significance. Therefore, as
a politician, I truly welcome this opportunity to talk
with you. So please bear with me as I try to put my
views before you professionals.
4. I know from you partner agency here, ISCB, that
some of you were most helpful in assisting ISCB to
undertake its 'Malaysia: Bullish on Bouncing Back'
international campaign last year to try to halt the
sliding confidence in Malaysia's ability to recover
economically. On behalf of Malaysia, I now would like
to thank you sincerely for you cooperation and
assistance, and you should be pleased to know that the
campaign encouraged other similar undertakings -- not
only in Malaysia, but other Asian countries as well --
to restore peoples' confidence to overcome this co-
called 'Asian Flu', although as a medical doctor I
never doubted for even one moment Malaysia's and Asia's
ability to recover. And I would like to report that
Malaysia is indeed bouncing back very strongly.
5. I am also mindful of the fact that all of you
nearly didn't go through with your plans to have ISCB
host this annual meeting of your network here in Kuala
Lumpur -- something which, ironically, serves as a
prime, if not perfect, example as the crux of my
address to you today. Understandaly, many of you were
skeptical, anxious, even fearful of coming here after
hearing and reading about the allegedly deliberate
beating up, trial and jailing of Malaysia's former
Deputy Prime Minister in September last year, and the
ensuing protests which, like advertising, have become
larger than life through repeated worldwide media hype.
6. You were further concerned with the effect on the
state of law and order and security here when the US
Vice President and its Secretary of State came to Kuala
Lumpur to attend the 1998 Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation, or APEC, summit meeting last November, and
made highly-publicised critical statements condemning
our country's governmental, judiciary and political
processes due to the arrest, trial and jailing of its
former Deputy Prime Minister. Of course, Austen Zecha
would have me believe that such rudeness would not have
been uttered by Republican officials. We will just
have to wait to find out if that it true. The proof of
the pudding lies in the eating.
7. But then again, if I had been in your shoes, I may
have been similarly concerned about being here.
However, as someone whom I earlier referred to as
having been both a life-long beneficiary and victim of
advertising and promotion, I would have relied on that
and my sufficient experience with the media to be able
to exercise my discretion in weighing what is reported
and 'hyped' as opposed to what is the truth. I
sincerely commend you, therefore, for letting your
discerning wisdom prevail and for coming here to
experience for yourself what Malaysia is all about, in
spite of what so-called 'Free Press' coverage of
Malaysia was, is and may still be in the future,
unfortunately.
8. The advertising industry in most countries is self-
regulating. You have your advertising Standards
Authorities to ensure that certain ethical standards
are maintained. In a world that is deregulating
everything, i.e. that rejects Governments as the
arbiter of society's conduct; it is paradoxical that
regulations are still needed, although they are
designed and imposed by the people concerned
themselves. We are therefore not really deregulating.
We are merely transferring the responsibility from a
third party, namely the Government to the first party
in the belief that the latter would not do a better
job. Unfortunately the second party has not direct
role in this self-regulating exercise. And the second
party is the most important party, being the recipients
of the end results of the first party's activities.
They come under the general description of consumers.
9. Accordingly the second party has resorted to
forming activist groups whom we refer to as Non-
Government Organisations, in order to protect
themselves since no third party is around to protect
them anymore. The NGO's have now become a force to
reckon with, and they are not too particular about how
they protect themselves.
10. Clearly, self-regulating industries must always
take into consideration the interests of the consumers
if they want to ensure that their industries survive
and prosper. Quick gains cannot be the objective of
regulating. Rather the long-term interest and well-
being of the industries must be the primary concern. I
am sure that this is the thinking of the Advertising
Standards Authorities in the developed countries. In
less developed countries like Malaysia, the Government
still has to monitor and regulate. Freedom is a heady
brew and for those newly introduced to it, freedom
tends to go to the head. Under British rule we had no
freedom - everything was regulated from Whitehall in
London. We have been an independent democracy only 42
years. We are learning fast but standards and
interpretations of democracy and freedom seem to change
faster. So we will lag behind somewhat with this
business of deregulating.
11. In short, advertising -- as well as freedom of the
press, since both are members of the Communications
Industry -- are, at various stages of development in
different countries, and need some monitoring or
policing by self or in some case by those authorised by
the people. Self-policing is the ideal but it quite
often fails in countries where public sense of
responsibility is not well grounded and not mature
enough. Racial and religious sensitivities can be
easily upset when there is no deeply ingrained self-
discipline. Those entrusted with maintaining peace and
security cannot just excuse themselves because everyone
is suppose to be regulating himself.
12. In these days of consumer awareness and the
insistence on quality, good suppliers who wish to stay
in the business must ensure whatever they supply meet
with the customers' or clients' expectations and needs.
No consumer wants to be handed goods or receive
services which do not measure up to the specs. The
consumer has a right to return the goods and claim
compensation. If the consumer's demand is not met,
then he can resort to litigation. In fact litigation
awards are so high in group action that suppliers live
in fear that past failures still haunt them. The
tobacco industry knows this very well.
13. The suppliers of news and the promises made in the
course of advertising are no different from other
suppliers of goods and services. Based on what they
are told or led to believe, consumers act. They buy or
they use what is supplied to them. If they find that
what they buy or they consume or they act upon is not
as described, then they, the consumers, have a right to
seek compensation. The material goods can be returned
but many things cannot be returned or compensated for.
14. I am sure that as people concerned with promoting
goods and services you would want to see that what you
help claim in your advertisements meet the expectations
you raise in the consumers' mind. If for example you
know that cigarette smoking causes cancer, you would
not want to imply in your advertisements that smoking
the brand you promote does not cause cancer.
Similarly, if you carelessly claim that mile is good
for the health when you know that it leads to cardiac
disease, you can still promote consumption of mild but
would not make wild unsubstantiated claims about its
health-giving properties.
15. Malaysia as you know has been going through a
period of economic instability accompanied by a degree
of political turmoil resulting from the removal of the
Deputy Prime Minister from his post. Admittedly, the
economy was badly traumatised with growth actually
contracting in 1998. There were street demonstrations,
intended to be peaceful but as usual turned ugly. The
Police were attacked, their patrol cars damaged and
rubbish bins burnt. Initially, there were daily hour-
long demonstrations confined to Kuala Lumpur. After a
week the numbers and the frequency diminished; the
demos being held only on Saturday afternoons in
specific places.
16. Life went on as usual in most parts of Kuala
Lumpur and the rest of the country. Today of course
you don't see anything amiss in Kuala Lumpur. It is
its usual bustling self. The construction work is
almost back to pre-economic turmoil days. The shopping
complexes are full of people. And everyone is busy
contributing to the country's wealth.
17. This is the true picture. But as you yourself
know, this is not the impression you got when you read
the media reports or the TV reports before you came
here. You believe that Malaysia is unstable and
dangerous even; not the place to hold an International
Conference; certainly not a place to invest. The
Malaysian Government had allegedly turned its back on
the world, had imposed currency controls etc, all of
which must result in severe economic slump and possibly
riots by its citizens would continue and the Government
would be toppled. There would be anarchy.
18. This is the impression that you get from the
International Western media reports.
19. What I am talking about may not sound relevant to
the advertising industry. But adverse news reports
have the same effect as advertising. That is the
relevance.
20. People, business people included, make decisions
on the basis of the information they get. Many would-
be investors, tourists and seminar participants decide
to invest or to visit based on what they see or hear or
read. When they get wrong information then their
decision would be equally through media reports, many
foreign investors missed out on profitable investments
in Malaysia. Since September last year when the
distorted reports about Malaysia were being spread by
the media, the Malaysian stock market index rose by
almost 200 percent. Literally this means investors who
came in early would have made huge capital gains. But
they did not because of the incorrect information that
they had received through the media.
21. The urge to distort and to misinform seems
irresistible to some people. Recently a film was made
on location in Malaysia. We are horrified to find that
the Kuala Lumpur twin towers, the tallest buildings in
the world, are pictured as rising from the slums of
Malacca 150 km away. You have been here and you know
that this is far form being true. The twin towers rise
in the middle of a modern city and it is surrounded by
50 acres of gardens where the people enjoy their
evenings and weekends, people who are well-fed, well-
clothed and probably well-heeled as well. They are far
from being slum dwellers.
22. The distorted views of the twin towers will
certainly make the movie audiences in the rich
countries conclude that Malaysia is one of those
developing countries which waste public funds, perhaps
even foreign aid, on useless grandiose monuments. And
they of course would not want to come and see the
highest buildings in the world. I really cannot
understand why we need to distort and harm when we can
be charitable without any additional cost to ourselves.
23. Today product liability is something that we all
take seriously. Cessna ceased producing single-engined
aircrafts because any defect in the aircraft found
twenty years after usage could still result in the
company being sued or blamed.
24. But when news agencies sell their news reports to
their clients, readers and viewers shouldn't they be
made equally responsible for the products they sell?
If their distorted and inaccurate news results in wrong
decisions being made and losses incurred due to missed
opportunities shouldn't the news agencies, the media be
held responsible for their product, namely the news
they broadcast to people who are their clients?
25. If the manufacturers must be responsible for
product liability should the news agencies not be
responsible for their products?
26. You are in the advertising business and I am sure
you are careful about what you help to promote. You do
not want to mislead the consumers, certainly not
deliberately. Inadvertently - yes but not
deliberately.
27. I believe that advertising is absolutely necessary
for the rapid growth of an economy. The advertising
industry must serve not just the client but also the
consumers. Aware of the importance of product
liability both client and you must ensure that nothing
is claimed that is not reasonably accurate. The
consumers have a right to expect that what they are
told about a product or service is reasonably accurate.
28. In Malaysia we are not very litigious. But we are
learning fast. This will certainly drive up the cost
of everything. We hope the good judges will not be so
carried away by the rights of the litigants that they
make awards which will eventually burden society with
high costs.
29. But whether they do or they don't. it is the duty
of everyone to be truthful about the goods and services
they sell. Even politicians must ensure this or they
too will face the wrath of the courts and the voters.
30. We live in an age of literate and educated
consumers. We cannot afford to take them for a ride,
to diddle them. We must therefore be more careful
about everything that we do or say.
31. I am sure your conference will discuss this kind
of problems that society is faced with. I am certain
that you will help us take another step forward in the
shaping of a better society, a society that is going to
move into the next millennium with all the changes and
advances that will come with it.
32. I wish you a successful meeting. I do hope you
will take time off after the meeting to see a little of
our country. We think it is beautiful and we hope you
will think so too after seeing more to it.
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