#saysomethingnice Campaign Press Conference

KUALA LUMPUR, 19 Aug: Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd unveiled the #SaySomethingNice campaign poster and presented the partners and supporters of the nationwide #SaySomethingNice campaign at their office in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The poster will be distributed for free to all who is interested to join the campaign.

The #SaySomethingNice campaign, which began in 2011, seeks to use the 17-day time segment between 31 August until 16 September as a time of truce and to showcase Malaysia in a very positive light. Malaysians are encouraged to be creative with a medium of their preference to showcase the best of Malaysia while at the same time do good for the country. For example, Malaysians can #WriteSomethingNice, #PaintSomethingNice, #TweetSomethingNice, #FacebookSomethingNice, #PlantSomethingNice, or #RecycleSomethingNice. At the very least, we can #SaySomethingNice with the poster.

With 15,000 pieces #SaySomethingNice of the poster printed, individuals, businesses or other organisations can take and put up these posters at their office, schools, community board, etc. This is hoped to encourage the exchanges of positivity and nice expressions. Interested parties can pick up the posters personally at Zubedy’s office. They can contact Hidayah Mazlan or ‘Aizat Roslan for this purpose.
To date, there are several interested parties who have volunteered to take and put up the posters in their premises and those within their network.

Universiti Teknologi MARA and MYDIN have taken 500 copies each. PCORE, an NGO, has also decided to take 200 copies. Many other friends and associates of Zubedy have also chosen to put up the poster in their organisations.

The overall message of #SaySomethingNice was what attracted many organisations and individuals to join in this Unity effort. Anas Zubedy, Managing Director of Zubedy, took the stage that day to announce supporters of the campaign.

Among the key partners of #SaySomethingNice are Sunway IFM (management of Sunway malls) and Tropicana City Mall have offered the use of their venues for the launching on 29 August and the closing-cum-Hari Malaysia celebration on 16 September respectively.

And throughout the 17 days, both malls will be abuzz with many activities. Sunway Pyramid will distribute balloons and flowers to its shoppers and have allocated space for other supporters of the campaign to do their activities. As for Tropicana City Mall, among the activities they have planned are Malaysian traditional games, Mandala (spiritual) drawing, ‘A Hikayat A Day’ exhibition, and many more. They will also collaborate with Touch ‘N Go for their limited edition #SaySomethingNice-themed collectible cards.

Furthermore, Yayasan 1Malaysia also became a partner of the campaign after signing a Memorandum of Understanding on 19 July. Their Neighbourhood Postcards initiative will take place across selected neighbourhood in Klang Valley. Another partner of the campaign is Iskandar Region Development Authority (IRDA).

Aside from the partners, Anas also announced the participation of other entities that will help spread the message of the campaign nationwide including Nikon Malaysia, Leo Burnett, TGIF Restaurants, Econsave Cash & Carry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (Shah Alam), INTI International University, Malaysian Red Crescent Society (Selangor), Society of the Severely Mentally Handicapped (Selangor & Federal Territories), Kechara Soup Kitchen, and many others.

Other than commercial enterprises, Zubedy has been talking to many religious organisations like Malaysia Hindu Sangam (who has agreed to distribute 1,000 copies of the poster to all Hindu temples), Buddhist Maha Vihara temple (who will take 500 copies of the poster), and the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. Zubedy will also be meeting Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM), Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), and other organisations to get their support for the campaign.

There are also several initiatives that have begun prior to Hari Merdeka. These include the #teesomethingnice project helmed by Hasnul Hadi Samsudin and Shamsul Jafni Shafie and A Hikayat A Day by Zalina Aziz.
In his presentation, Anas expressed his wish for the campaign, “We hope this #SaySomethingNice campaign will leave a big impact to the society with the involvement of schools and relevant bodies. To achieve this end, we are trying to reach several key ministries like Education and Tourism as well as the Department of National Unity and Integration under the Prime Minister’s Department.”

In order to reach out to as many Malaysians as possible, Zubedy is also working with as many parties and media – both traditional and online – as possible. Through the campaign’s Facebook site (www.facebook.com/saysomethingnicecampaign) and Zubedy’s other social media avenues, Zubedy has been tirelessly promoting the campaign to all Malaysians through the official hashtag - #SaySomethingNice.
Anas went on to invite all Malaysians to join this campaign purely for Malaysia’s sake, “Let us encourage the engagement and passion of our Malaysian brothers and sisters to make this country a better and more harmonious one.

“We have a dream that one day, perhaps in 10 to 15 years, the time segment will be so renowned that it will attract tourists from all over the world in droves to visit the country and witness for themselves our Unity.”