Released on: March 27, 2008, 8:36 am

Press Release Author: Soni Motors Thailand

Industry: Automotive

Press Release Summary: World\'s top 4x4 dealer and 4x4 exporter for Toyota Vigo,
Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara - the Soni Group (www.sonimotorsthailand.com)
brings together 100 poor Hindus, Sikhs, Buddist, Christian and Muslims families
together for joint celebration of Easter, Holi and Prophet\'s birthday for 15th
consecutive year.

Press Release Body:

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Date: March 24, 2008

Contact: Sam Quraishi

Mobile: +66.86.677.5701

Email: sonivigo@gmail.com

Soni Motors Thailand - World\'s 4x4 Dealer - brings together Hindus,
Christians and Muslims in joint celebration of Holi, Easter and Prophet Muhammad\'s
Birthday to further inter-religious harmony

Summary: World\'s top 4x4 dealer and 4x4 exporter of diesel pickups and
SUVs as Toyota Hilux Vigo, Mitsubishi L200 Triton and Nissan Navara - the Soni
Group - brought together Hindus, Christians and Muslims to jointly celebrate their
joyous holidays. 100 poor Hindu, Sikh, Christian and Muslim families were taken to
a secluded beach for a festive picnic and extravaganza. Team Soni volunteers
organized Easter egg hunt for children and eco-colors throwing to celebrate Holi.
Snacks and meals were served as families enjoyed themselves. For details, contact
Soni Motors Thailand at +66 (86) 677-5701 or browse through their website at
http://www.sonirodban.com and http://www.jim4x4.com.

Bangkok, Thailand --Soni Motors Thailand (http://www.sonirodban.com/) -
world\'s largest exporter of diesel 4x2 and 4x4 vehicles as Toyota Hilux
Vigo, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi L200 Triton, Nissan Navara, Isuzu DMax, Chevy
Colorado and Ford Ranger among others to 100 countries in the world - organized a
picnic for 100 poor families in its neighborhood. The participants were taken to a
famous beach a few miles from Bangkok by buses. Food, tea, gourmet coffees, cola
and juices were plentiful. A host of Thai and Indian appetizers prepared by an
acclaimed Culinary Team were served right away and then when the Soni volunteers
started the barbecues food was served non-stop till the end of the event.
Vegetarian food was also available. As families played in the water or sat a little
distance on mats and chairs brought in for the occasion, 25 waitresses served food
and drinks all over the picnic area.

The event, which has been running for the past fifteen years, aims to make the
festive season as happy a time as possible for poor families, especially those who
would otherwise feel out of touch with the seasonal celebrations. Team Soni attended
to every little detail led by Mr. Soni and Mr. Jim Quraishi. These events that
celebrate different holidays four times a year have been bringing together Hindus,
Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists in one place for the past 15 years.

The event started with children Easter egg hunt and bunny hop competition
followed by Holi color throwing followed by songs of Prophet\'s birth. Mr. Soni and
Jim Quraishi thanked the participants and the proceedings came to an end at 6 pm.
Team Soni was joined by volunteers from the neighborhood as they cleaned up the
picnic area "to leave it better than we found it" directive from Mr.
Soni.

Two hundred plastic eggs filled with imported Swiss chocolates, Japanese candies
and goodies and very special prizes were hidden throughout the venue. Children
were given Soni Souvenir egg hunting bags. There were two designated areas for egg
hunting: one for children ages 2-5 and the other for children ages 6-12. Since
there are few places to hide eggs in a beach, the children had great fun finding
them quickly. 4 year Som was the winner with 20 eggs. Bunny hopping contest was won
by 13 year old Jagjeet Singh. There was a break for people to relax and eat and
drink and enjoy the beach and then all hell broke looses when there was a free for
all as eco-friendly colors were thrown at each other. By the time revelry was
finished an hour later very few appeared unscathed. Every face and cloth was
painted with panoply of colors. It was a lot of fun.

Sam Quraishi commented, "Four times a year we bring people of diverse
faiths together as one to enjoy the day with their families and share the joys of
each others\' holidays and increase their understanding. This is a fulfillment of
our great grandfather\'s vision. He practiced multi-multiculturalism long before the
word was coined. When he established Asia\'s first auto dealership outside Japan in
1911, people moved in their own cultural circles and employed only people of their
faith in their companies, Quraishi Senior hired the most qualified candidate
irrespective of his race, color religion or sect. He employed Hindus, Sikhs, Jain,
Christians and Muslims and celebrated their holidays as his own. It was in this
spirit Mr. Soni started this annual picnic 15 years ago and now four times a year
we celebrate different Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim holidays. I can
see some deep friendships formed 15 years ago have now blossomed into
cross-generational relationships among people of different faiths."

Executives of other divisions of the Soni Group of Companies
(http://www.sonimotorsthailand.com/) namely Jim 4x4 Thailand (href=\"http://www.jim4x4.com\">http://www.jim4x4.com), Bloomstar Thailand
(http://www.thailand4x4.com/), Yasir Trading (http://www.jimsoni.com/) and Soni
Manufacturing Division (href=\"http://www.sonimotors.net/\">http://www.sonimotors.net/) also expressed
their admiration for the smooth running of the picnic and the bridging of cultural
and religious gaps it accomplished. A senior executive of Soni Motors Dubai (href=\"http://www.soni-dubai.com/\">http://www.soni-dubai.com/) was also in
attendance. Our favorite ex-executive Willie Quraishi who has now joined Mark
Motors Thailand (href=\"http://www.markmotorsthailand.com/\">http://www.markmotorsthailand.com/)
was specially invited by Mr. Soni to attend the event and everyone in the Soni
family enjoyed meeting him again.

Soni Quraishi commented, "I\'m very grateful to Team Soni for their weeklong
preparations to make this a success and their performance today to keep everything
going like clockwork. I was so happy to see the children and their parents have so
much fun. We have a moral duty to reach out to the have-nots in our community. It
is priceless to see the huge smiles on our neighbors\' faces when they are having
fun enjoying good plentiful food, crafts and games. I salute all Team Soni
volunteers for taking time off from their busy schedules to bring festive cheer and
a smile to our neighbors. This is the true spirit of Holi, Easter and
Meelad."

Jim Quraishi added, "I\'m delighted to see people of so many different
faiths mingling with each other, chatting, eating together, playing together and
just having a good time. Our founder had a vision that one day people of all faiths
will come together as beads of a rosary and it brings tears to my eyes to see that
realized every year in these joint celebrations. If there were only more tolerance,
understanding and appreciation of each others\' differences, we will have a
different world."

Sunny Quraishi commented, "We have a proud 97 years history of philanthropy
and have always shared our good fortune with family, friends, neighbors and the
needy in whichever community we have worked in. We have always shared 5% of our
profits to charitable causes and have recently committed 2% of our profits to
environmental causes in honor of Al Gore. Holi, Easter and Prophet\'s Birthday have
a lot in common, all three are joyous celebrations of peace and renewal. Easter
celebrates rebirth of Jesus, Holi celebrates triumph over evil while Prophet\'s
birthday celebrates how an infant and destitute child changed the course of history
singlehandedly with power of conviction in his faith. All three events celebrate
Love and Sacrifice and I would like to take this opportunity to honor all those who
offer sacrifices for the betterment of human condition."



Participants were brought back to Prawet headquarters for evening tea. Adults
were given Soni t-shirts, caps and a raffle was held for some gifts. Clothes,
toys, and books were distributed among all the children by an Easter bunny who
bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Soni. Children took photos with the Easter
bunny and disbursed playing on the merry go round brought for this occasion.
Participants thanked Mr. Soni and Mr. Jim Quraishi and then gradually began
leaving in free shuttle service provided by Soni for the occasion but the
majority hung out chatting with each other and learning from each other and a few
people even exchanged numbers. Many noted how heartening it was to see how these
quarterly events manage to bring people of different faiths closer to each other.
People hung around well after dark sipping on soft drinks courtesy of Soni
Motors.

About Soni

The Soni Group of Companies (http://www.sonimotorsthailand.com) is Thailand's
largest and oldest auto exporting group and commands a whopping 80-90% share of
the automotive exporting market. Soni is owned and operated by the Quraishi
Family which is considered Asia's First Family of automotive Retailing and has
been in automotive business since 1911. Soni has an enviable track record of
leading the industry thanks to its century-old commitment to customer service,
honesty, integrity, professionalism, quality and low price. For more information
please email Soni at sonivigo@gmail.com
or visit http://www.sonirodban.com/ for
new 4x4 vehicles, accessories, spare parts and rims and href=\"http://www.jim4x4.com\">http://www.jim4x4.com for nearly new and
second-hand vehicles.