SOME   200 journalists, media representatives and their friends descended on Bidor, Perak, on sept 9. This quiet town was on the route of a treasure hunt organized by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (Malaysia Airports).

A total of 65 cars went on the Northern Trail to search for answers to clues and riddles posed as part of the hunt. Bidor alone held three clues to the 30-question game. The clues usually refer to names of shops, explaining their popularity. The Media Hunt 2006-Northern Trail saw the largest number of participants this year as interest has been building up among the media personnel.
The hunt was flagged off in the morning at Malaysia Airports’ headquarters in Subang by Malaysia Airports Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Dr Aris Othman at 7.30am and ended at Malaysia Airports Training Centre (MATC), Penang, in the evening. Apart from challenging participants in answering tricky questions along the way, there were also games at MATC.
The prize presentation ceremony was held later during the Media Nite at Bay view Beach Resort, Penang, where winners were presented their prizes by Aris and Malaysia Airports Managing Director Dato’Seri Bashir Ahmad.
The team of Men In Black, comprising members from The Sun and Bernama, emerged as the champion for the Media Hunt 2006 and received a challenge trophy, cash prize of RM2,000 and four airline tickets to Jakarta, courtesy of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Runner-up was Sons of Sun from the Sun. The team received a cash prize of RM1,600 plus four airline tickets to Brunei courtesy of AirAsia, while Rising Star from New Straits Times was placed third and received a cash prize of RM1,200 plus four airline tickets to Langkawi courtesy of Malaysia Airlines. There were also prizes for teams up to 20th placing and special prizes for funniest answers. Malaysia’s queen of rock, Ella and starlight-a local band-enter-tained the audience.
“This is part of our effort to express our gratitude to all members of the media for their support and cooperation through out the years,” said Bashir.
“We believe through these events, both Malaysia Airports and members of the media will have the opportunity to further enhance and expand our working relationship,” he said.