Wednesday 22 / May / 2024
Muscat: Pakistan Social Club (PSC) Oman has decided to raise the bar and perform even better by focusing on operational excellence, large scale community involvement and wide-ranging services to the community.
Close to 250,000 Pakistanis reside in Oman but the PSC membership has been abysmally low. Enrolling more members will be the top priority of the newly-elected team.
“I want our membership to reach 10,000 in the next two years. We are going to reach out to the community with a new vigour and resolve to raise the PSC’s profile. A lot of Pakistanis are holding high profile positions in Oman. Many are heading even multi-national companies. I want those bright and brilliant Pakistanis to join the PSC and help us serve the community better,” Mian Mohammed Munir, Chairman of the Pakistan Social Club, who was recently re-elected for another term of two years, said in an interview to the Times of Oman.
The PSC has already introduced an electronic card for its members with computerised data encryption. The digital card also carries a bar code to prevent duplication. The card will also help streamline attendance issues on occasions like Annual General Meeting (AGM).
“To attract the community’s attention, we are trying that the new membership card should come with a number of incentives. Once we are able to negotiate successfully with our partners, each PSC member will be entitled to a bouquet of benefits for a nominal annual membership fee of OMR10,” he added.
When asked to explain the kind of incentives which would be on offer, the PSC Chairman cited a number of attractions like discounts on food, health and travel. all of which are being planned.
“We have requested the PIA to offer 5 kg extra baggage to PSC cardholders.
The airline is waiting for approval from its head office in Karachi. We are also negotiating with leading Pakistani restaurants to offer discounts to our members.
Talks are on with leading hospitals for discount. The Lifeline Medical Centre has already agreed to offer medical consultation for just OMR1. Our members could consult their specialists by paying a highly discounted fee of OMR2,” Munir explained.
He said the club had also requested the Pakistan Embassy to set up a special counter for the PSC cardholders or address their issues on a priority basis.
“We have been assured of a positive response soon,” he added.
Talking about efforts to increase community involvement, the PSC chairman said the club has directed the welfare committees all over Oman to increase their efforts to boost PSC membership in order to enhance its reach across the country.
Shining example
“This could be my last term as PSC chairman. I want to raise the performance bar to set a shining example for the future PSC teams. That is precisely why we have given strict instructions to the heads of all the wings to perform to the best of their ability or leave the job for someone else.
We are going to monitor their performance and review it every three months. We expect them to organise a lot of quality events, and get as many members as possible,” announced the PSC chairman. Pakistan Social Club Oman has seven wings functioning under its banner, which include a highly active Literary Wing, Youth Wing, Cultural Wing, Sports Wing, Media Wing, Ladies Wing and Professionals’ Wing. Formation of a Doctors’ Wing is also under consideration. Having moved to a new premises recently, the PSC wants to organise a chain of events in its community hall all through the year.
“This hall can accommodate up to 100 people and small events can be held here easily, which, to some extent, will solve the problem of looking for a venue,” he added.
The new PSC Board of Directors for the term 2016-2018 comprises: Mian Mohammed Munir (chairman), A H Raja (vice chairman), Mohammed Zaeem Akhter (general secretary), Amjad Farooq (finance secretary) and directors Chaudhry Mohammed Abbas, Haji Mohammed Shaukat, Syed Aftab Gilani, Mohammed Ali Fazal, Mohammed Aslam Nawab, Imran Iqbal and Chaudhry Mohammed Iqbal.
