She has bungee jumped (albeit reluctantly), white water rafted, camped out, trekked up Gunung Tahan, stepped foot on Mount Kinabalu and the Himalayas (opting for a no fuse no stress one-day exploration at the start to the peaks, and spending the rest of her time sipping hot earl grey tea and exploring the gastronomical delights of the region). She has met kings and queens, well-loved performers, corporate heads and leaders of nations. She won't say no to any challenge so long as she believes in it.
At 21, and in her first year with Bernama, the National News Agency, Janitha Sukumaran was the youngest journalist at the 1989 CHOGM meet in Kuala Lumpur . She was eventually plucked out of the media and lured into public relations, which eventually led her to start Rantau PR with three other partners.
Janitha brings with her an in-depth understanding of the Malaysian media, having written on business, technology and general issues. Her extensive experience in these areas helps her lead the company in planning client activities around the needs of the media.
She is the lead presenter for media training sessions for clients, and has conducted numerous trainings on the appreciation of public relations to help raise the level of professionalism and acceptance of the industry.
Janitha oversees the overall operations and strategic direction of Rantau PR. She has over 20 years experience in communications and strongly believes that a dedicated, enthusiastic and passionate team is the foundation of a successful company.
GOGULAN DORAIRAJOO Chief Executive Officer
A true disciple of the Jedi Arts and the ways of the Force, Gogulan has used his Jedi training throughout his life and career to maintain the balance that he seeks.
Gogulan brings to Rantau PR his vast experience and know-how of over 14 years, which runs the gamut of the Communication Discipline with stints in Advertising, Media, Events, Post Production and now PR. Assisting in overall strategy as well as brand planning and digital marketing, he is also spearheading business development for the company.
A fanatical football and sports fan, he still harbors hope of Aston Villa winning the Premier League and the Champions League and of Argentina winning the World Cup again. He believes Maradona was the second coming and whilst lamenting the state of local football is willing to help restore it to its former glory in anyway possible.
A Crackberry to the core he cannot be seen without his BlackBerry and is a self-confessed gadget freak tasked with ushering Rantau PR into the digital realm.
JULIA NICHOLAS
General Manager
Julia, is a firm believer in Alfred E. Newman's philosophy of “What, Me Worry”, which she says has kept her sane all these years. An office without laughter will probably drive her to the “ loony bin ” sooner than expected! After all “ laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects ” and is a heck of a lot cheaper than therapy and booze!
She is a lover of Abba, Agatha Christie, all things 80's and British, conspiracy theories and her Shih Tzu, “Patches” (whom truly she believes is a highly intelligent being). Her pet peeves include people who do not get Abba, Agatha Christie, all things 80's and British, conspiracy theories and her Shih Tzu, “Patches”!
With a diploma in Human Resource Management and ending a stint in Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Julia got dragged into the trenches of public relations literally by accident and with no experience at all, joined Rantau PR as a Client Services Executive in 1996 where she gained immense experience under the wings of Rantau's founders.
In 1999, Julia left to embark on a career in Sports PR. She has to her credit handled media relations for two of the largest sports events in Malaysia – Malaysia Sevens Rugby (2000-2002) and Ironman Langkawi Malaysia Triathlon (2000 – 2004). Her career highlight to date has been the presentation of a sponsorship proposal on behalf of Lotto to the Everton Football Club at Goodison Park in 2003.
Julia returned to Rantau PR in 2005 and currently handles lifestyle, technology and business accounts, while continuing to ensure a high level of mirth in the company.
ADELINE PHUN
Senior Consultant
Adeline is a true believer that apart from Margaritas and great food, humour, good friends and lots of laughter is essential for sanity, hence her boisterous laughter. She lives by this maxim, which simply says "Work like you do not need money, Love like you have never been hurt, and Dance like no one is watching."
An outdoor lover and ardent traveller, on some weekends, she takes a drive out of the city with friends to try out something new in the name of adventure, a good tan and delicious food. From riverboarding to mountain climbing and diving, Adeline will try anything once for the adrenaline rush. To practise her driving skill, she go-karts and to complete climbing Mount Kinabalu is the next thing to do on her list.
Adeline also harbours a not-so-secret aspiration to be a sexy chef like Nigella Lawson. Occasionally, she will spring clean her fridge and there will be food for her colleagues. It is also good to note that no one has suffered from her cooking or baking so far.
Armed with a degree in International Business Administration (Hons) from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, UK, Adeline started off her public relations career in an agency servicing various technology accounts. During her tenure, she also had the opportunity to manage some lifestyle, upmarket property and pharmaceutical company accounts.
Adeline joined Rantau PR in late 2004 and she still finds passion and adventure in every account she handles. With technology as her forte, she now focuses on ICT, property and lifestyle accounts.
ALICIA PINTO
Consultant
An avid lover of the outdoors and travelling, Alicia dreams of venturing out of the country and eagerly looks forward to exploring neighboring countries. Her simple yet very long bucket list is inspired by her dream of going around the world to experience the beauty of every country before an aged body gets the better of a wiling spirit. A beach babe at heart, Alicia’s favourite part of a beach holiday involves being able to snorkel and getting burnt in the hot sun.
This intrepid KDU College graduate with a Diploma in Mass Communications under her belt has experienced working in 2 different PR agencies. At work, she always wants to be in the know and to be involved in as many things as possible and trying to absorb maximum knowledge from everything she does.
Alicia is a poster child of sorts for green living, having always been a supporter of environmental protection. For her, recycling is ingrained in her lifestyle; she does it everyday, all the time.
A fitness aficionado, Alicia incorporates badminton and swimming into her workout regimes that she tries to follow at least twice a week.
When the chips are down, Alicia believes laughter is the best medicine. She advocates listening to or reading jokes when stressed to ease tension and relax the mind.
TUAN AHMAD ANAS BAKHTIAR BIN TUAN MUSTAPHA
Consultant
The Kelantan-born son of a military man, Anas led the typically nomadic life of a military brat, attending seven different primary schools and a secondary school. Anas was the baby of a family with two sons and two daughters for many years until he was promoted to the rank of uncle after the birth of his first niece.
Anas holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies (Hons.) from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), majoring in Public Relations. He also holds a Diploma in Mass Communication and Media Studies from the same institution.
Passionate about eating, cooking, and observing human behaviour, Anas has dabbled in various jobs that allowed him to embrace his passions, including working as a cook and a waiter for three different restaurants after his SPM examinations, where he got plenty of opportunity to observe and get to know people’s behavior. Anas also very much enjoys watching people cooking and learning from them as well as trying new and different foods. His keen eye for human
behaviour also comes in handy when honing his skill and cultivating his interest in photography. Indeed, Anas was an amateur freelance photographer during his undergraduate Diploma days.
A former member of the school football team, Anas joined in Standard 5, and since then, his love of sports has never flagged and he continues to be very active. A diehard fan of the Red Devils, he credits this love to his first football coach, who always showed the team an hour-long clip of Manchester United FC’s matches during their training sessions.
Anas believes that a strong faith and conviction in one’s own actions will bring far more meaningful results and life experiences, which in turn makes for far richer knowledge and lessons to share with others.
JOANNE GOH
Editorial Strategist
As a freshly minted graduate with a degree in Mass Communications from Liverpool John Moores University, Joanne decided to make her first foray into the working world by launching right into public relations at Rantau PR.
At Rantau PR, Joanne has gained a colossal amount of hands-on knowledge about how independent consulting
on communications and media relations works in Malaysia. She contributes her self-professed geek's-eye view of the world to the mix.
A believer in free will, Joanne tries to empathise with her fellow humans and to always respect common human dignity.
Being an avid film and television buff with a love for educational programming and the occasional live stage performance, Joanne experiences life and travels vicariously through the media in instances where time, money and paranoia do not permit.
Formerly a consultant working on an array of lifestyle and technology accounts, Joanne now splits her energy between executing media strategies and campaigns for a couple of lifestyle and corporate accounts and having fun with words in her tasks of writing and strategising editorial content for clients across the board.
KIRAN KAUR
Administrative Assistant
Kiran first joined Rantau PR in 1995 as a receptionist / clerk and served for a short while before leaving to explore the world with Malaysia Airlines. It didn't take her long though to realise that Rantau PR is where she belongs, so she returned and has been sticking around ever since.
For Kiran whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve! A common phrase but definitely something she believes in very strongly. She describes herself as a very observant individual with an analytical aptitude and often speaks her mind.
She loves reading, travelling, surfing the net and is a true movie junkie and if you pay attention, you may just find her loitering around cinemas.
In her present capacity, Kiran manages our finances, keeping all our suppliers happy and our accounts in proper order. She can also always be relied on to jump in and assist in pre-event preparations and attend events when the need arises.
