The Malaysian Government Needs Better Public Relations and Crisis Management

In it's 54 years of being in office, Barisan Nasional is facing its worse public relations crisis now that they no longer have control over all means of mass communication. They still uphold an ethical stand of no censorship of the internet, but they seem to be faring far from well from the latest Bersih2.0 incident.

It was an unwise move for the Prime Minister and his ministers to deny that there were violence during Bersih2.0 when there were thousands of witnesses and many foreign and independent press present with cameras, video recording devices and means to distribution those information collected (Facebook, Youtube, email, foreign news channel). The most prominent incident is denial that tear gas and water cannon were fired into the Tung Shin Hospital where marchers had taken refuge, when hotly circulating on the internet now are ample videos shot from different angles proving otherwise. 

When Al-Jazeera interviewed our Information Minister in the midst of the rally, he insulted the journalist by accusing foreign press of being sensationalists. He was barely coherent, highly aggitated and either could not understand or evaded answering her question of "Why is the march illegal (in the first place)?" making him appear all the more guilty and incompetent.

Post rally has seen the Prime Minister mocking childishly the leader of the Opposition, who participated in the march, implying that Anwar pretended to be hurt by the tear gas. Further to that, various ministers had stepped to make light of the turnout, warn citizens and media against supporting Bersih, which is widely interpreted as threats by the public. Their unprofessional and tactless presentation only succeeds in portraying them as the villains in this chapter of Malaysia's history.

In retaliation, anti-government Facebook petitions had mushroomed overnight and is growing rapidly in support. A page aiming to gather 100 000 people who wants Najib resignation shot passed it’s goal within two days and, at the time of this entry, already achieved almost double it’s intention and still growing. Attempts at anti-Bersih online petitions showed numbers that pale in comparison to the competition, which only succeed in attracting mockery.

Additionally, negatives comments and discussions about the prime minister’s wife spending habits has resurfaced with more digging into her purchases, specifically a USD24 million ring. Whether it’s the truth, the citizens have reached the tipping point – they want to and set out to believe the worse.

The fact is that the government had handled Bersih2.0 extremely ill. The mistake had already been done. The best crisis management in such a situation is really to stop playing the blame game and take immediate, effective corrective action.

Learning from a separate crisis management moment that took place in 1982, a particular Johnson & Johnson over-the-counter drug was laced with poison leading to several deaths. Instead of denying that they were responsible, even though it was the work of a psychotic individual who tampered with the drug when it was already on the display shelf, J&J took immediate corrective action by recalling 31 million bottles of the drug and revamping the safety packaging. They realised short term losses from the defunct products would save their money-cannot-buy reputation. They were lauded for their sense of responsibility and quick action.

Our government should learn from past crisis management incidents and take a leaf out of truth marketing. People are surprisingly forgiving to those who admit their faults and flaws. So what’s really left for the government to do now to salvage the remnants of their reputation, if there is any left, are...


Well, first they should fire their National Communications Team who came up with the failed guidelines for managing Bersih (see GUIDANCE ON KEY ISSUES No 8/2011)

And then they should:

1)    Stop denying and admit it ‘could have been handled better’

2)    Apologise

3)    Take corrective action

i ) Make one truly generous gesture. I'd say they should relinquish control of media by finally allowing alternative views to be published without fear of their publishing license being withdrawn. After all, news of all negative activities (whether true or mere hearsay) are being spread online, all the more vehemently because it is the only outlet.

Understand human nature that the more they are suppressed, the more they seek out the truth and all the more violently and negatively they react to your every action. To put it in another analogy, the more freedom a parent gives a child, the less she or he feels the need to rebel.

ii) Cease futher threats to supporters of Bersih

iii) Engage in open talks and debates with Ambiga, the leader of Bersih, so the citizens will see it as sincere attempts at listening to the rakyat. Set up discussions between Bersih and Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), so that the latter is seen as being open to suggestions and implementing them.

iv) Ministers must be trained on presentation and public speaking, with capable press secretaries who are more aware of the rakyat's mood and reactions

All of this public relations fiasco could have been avoided if the government had amicably allowed the peaceful march to proceed. If they had been seen happily giving the license, arranging proper police escort and medical aid for ‘the safety of the marchers’ and even marching along with them supporting clean elections. Whether or not they meant it, the public would merely smirk and remark “Really wan or not?”, then continued on with their everyday lives.