BY

I have just returned from Japan after an eventful two weeks of studying the Total Quality Management system in the Land of the Rising Sun. I was the leader of a fifteen member All-Pakistan delegation of technocrats who were selected by the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan to attend this program which was organized by Nikkeiren International Cooperation Center. NICC is an important wing of Nikkeiren, which is the Japanese Employer’s Federation. Our delegation spent nearly 15 days in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Gifu.

The delegation was able to get theoretical as well as practical training from the experts from the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). This enabled us to comprehend the intricacies of the Japanese style of management, and at the same time to strive for the adaptation of this method in our factories here. Quality Control Management is the logical step towards preparing our organizations for the ISO 9000 and WTO requirements, a must if this country has to keep the momentum going on in her exports regime.

This was my third extended trip to Japan. The first time, or hajimate, as my Nihon friends say, was in 1976 when I went to study yarn preparation and textile weaving. In 1986, I was the leader of delegation of another Nikkeiren study tour on Personnel Management in Japan. However, things and times have changed. PAKISTAN is no more in the positive limelight as she was in 1976 or even in 1989.

Today, there is an obvious bias against our country. It is perceived as a country that does everything wrong. The Japanese authorities are fed up with the illegal immigrants doing menial jobs all over the country. An unofficial count maintains a figure of nearly 15-16,000 Pakistanys working in this nation. I remember a few years ago, a honorable member of the Japanese Diet, who was on an official visit to Pakistan, was invited to a luncheon meeting hosted by the EFP. He began his speech with a clear-cut warning that Japanese-Pakistan relations may go downstream if we do not curb the inflow of illegal Pakistany entrants into his esteemed country.

The English language newspapers in Japan had no positive news about Pakistan. We read about the daily Karachi death toll and we read about the evils of bonded labor in Pakistan. We had absolutely no idea that there has been a catastrophe due to floods all over the nation. We had no idea so many people had lost their lives in these floods. We had no idea what was really going on in the country.

The news about the devastation due to floods was a very "human" story and could have gained sympathy and offers of support for our country, especially in Japan. But there was none, because the Japanese people too had no idea things were dismal. Maybe they really don’t care what happens to this country of ours.

One has got to remember that the Japanese products are a very important part of our daily ritual. We wake up to the alarm on a Japanese radio, watch ZeeTV or CNN on a Japanese television, drive a Japanese car, listen to music on a Japanese tape-recorder or CD, watch videos from Pulse Global on a Japanese VCR or LD, and our communication is made easy due to a Japanese cellular phone. In fact, a two year-old child can flash read Sony, Honda, or National shining brightly on the neon sign.

What Pakistan lacks not only with regard to Japan, but all over the world is that we are ZERO SQUARED when it comes to public relations. We have never devised a policy of presenting our country favorably at international levels or to world communities. We have lost major battles at many universal forums, such as the UN, or at the many conferences and seminars. We have lost our country’s reputation and yet do not care about the ramifications. It seems that the rulers, if they do believe in public relations, only care about their own personal projection and to hell with the rest.

I also made it a point to take my team to the Pakistan Embassy in Tokyo where we brought up this subject of negative publicity with the Ambassador, Mr Mujahid Hussein. He too was at a loss for a plausible reply and muttered something about the non-arrival of the Press Attaché from Islamabad. We told him in no uncertain terms that the Embassy could send out to the press, specific articles and position papers relating to our Sohni Dharti, something with which he feebly agreed, although without conviction.

This unfortunately is the general situation all over the world. We did try to spend millions of dollars during the Premier’s high profile journey to Clinton’s Land. However, this was more of a personal projection exercise for the Prime Minister and it showed the obvious mish-mash which the Pakistany publicity planners are notoriously famous for. Overkill never helps.

What we require is a well-developed game plan that will show the world that we are not denizens living in the 16th Century, that we are not reactionary people, that we are not brutes when it comes to child labor, that we are not killing off each other without remorse, that we have a highly successful industrial policy, that we have world-class expertise in banking and investment, that we can manufacture international quality products, that we are endowed with nature’s largesse, that we have skilled personnel, that we have reputed sports persons, that our scientists can invent and innovate, that we are a hard-working nation, and that we are beautiful people.

Unfortunately, the Babus in the external publicity department are very slow to respond and assist the Embassies abroad. No wonder when the foreign immigration authorities see our Green Passport, all hell breaks loose and the suspicions and intense scannings begin. We are the pariahs and we can do the world a whole lot of good if we would just stay away from other countrys’ shores.

The new media team in Islamabad is sincerely requested to get its act together and portray to the world the things that make this Islamic nation such a great country. Are you guys ready to take up the challenge ? Maybe what you need is some professional expertise. I would venture to suggest the formation of a experts’ committee consisting of eminent personalities such as Humayun Gauhar, Javed Jabbar, Naseer Haider of IAL, Razia Bhatti, Asad Abid, and the person who does MQM’s worldwide publicity, etc to help you prepare a long-term master plan. Over to you !