Unforgettable Public Relations Blunders

Of late, we have seen how our local government has failed to effectively manage their public relations strategies in challenging situations. The local and international media went into overdrive when covering the Bersih 2.0 rally. A series of public relations mistakes have been made by the establishment and this is to their detriment. It is quite pointless to cast pearls at the swine by spending good money consulting international public consultants when they cannot even take care of their own turf by bungling and fumbling every other day.

Even Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, the outspoken BN deputy minister, has criticised his administration for failing to discuss terms with the outlawed group before the rally. With much foresight, he warned that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would suffer a political backlash from the July 9 rally.

The Malaysian Insider has said that we can see that "Umno-controlled media, such as Utusan Malaysia, and some BN leaders have continued to blame the opposition for what they say are biased news reports, especially from the foreign media, that paint the government in a bad light." Instead of pointing fingers, why haven't they tried to bridge the gap to resolve differences by holding negotiations? Most disappointingly, they adopted an arrogant "I am right and you are wrong" stance which distanced the rakyat from the status quo.

I wonder how many know that on June 30th, Dr Ng Yen Yen wrote this in her blog:
The Tourism Ministry yesterday urged organisers of the Bersih 2.0 rally to call it off as the industry could lose about RM1.2 billion.I wonder how she came up with that figure. And I also wonder also whether she is aware who is the one who launched the lockdown in the city.

Then there is case of the six PSM members who have been held held without trial under the EO for the last three weeks. Choo Chon Kai, R Saratbabu, M Letchumanan, M Sarasvathy, A Sukumaran and Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj were arrested for promoting the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally. None has been charged with any crime.

Following that, Queen Elizabeth wore yellow and had matching yellow flowers in her parlour when the PM and his wife paid her a courtesy call at Buckingham Palace. That spoke volumes and caused major ripples all over.

Let's not forget those who were arrested in their hotel room for wearing the Bersih t-shirt.

Of course there is the Tung Shin Hospital debacle and many have written about it. It was a case of a "No, it did not happen" and then the "We will probe further" run round the mulberry bush.

At the opening of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Conference 2011 (CMJA) in Kuala Lumpur four days ago, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz read our our PM's speech where he said:

Malaysia is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the continued independence of the judiciary.


agung rulers judiciary 110807He said an independent judiciary was a central component of democracy, and one of the most important reasons for national achievement.


"Safeguarding and ensuring the continued independence of the judiciary is an ideal that Malaysia is wholly committed to. It must be said that the Malaysian judiciary has experienced a fair measure since Merdeka (independence).


"The first three decades after independence were relatively free from turbulence, but the late 1980s saw turbulent changes and controversy, which attracted considerable public criticism and speculation.


"The erosion of public confidence in the judiciary was recognised and measures were expressly taken to fortify the safeguards of judicial independence." More here.

After the widely publicized trip to establish diplomatic relations with Pope Benedict XVI. our PM made a statement here saying that the government will engage with Christians groups here that love peace and respect the country’s Islamic leadership.

Yesterday, FMT reported that the police have applied for arrest warrants to haul in 13 individuals, including Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, national laureate A Samad Said, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, PAS vice-president Husam Musa, PKR MP R Sivarasa, PAS MP Hatta Ramli, Bersih 2.0 steering committee members Haris Ibrahim and Wong Chin Huat, PKR leaders Latheefa Koya and Badrul Hisham Shaharin as well as former Perak Speaker V Sivakumar in connection with the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9. The list also contained the name of PAS Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo’ Lo’ Ghazali but she had passed away on Sunday.

Of course, we must not forget that French lawyer William Bourdon, who was in Penang last night to speak about the controversial Scorpene submarines deal allegedly involving millions of ringgit in kickbacks to Malaysian government officials, was detained at the KL International Airport this morning and will be deported soon.

At 1.42 pm, Malaysiakini reported:

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who returned today from working visits to three countries, said he had cancelled a holiday with the family abroad to spend more time with the people in Malaysia.

He said he was thankful to his wife Rosmah Mansor and their children for having agreed with him to come back earlier from overseas.

"I told my family I felt that I should return to Malaysia and that I was prepared to forgo the holiday for the sake of Malaysians back home," he said when addressing about 3,000 people who had gathered at the Bunga Raya Complex of the KL International Airport to greet him on his return.

How wonderful! What a lovely coincidence, ya?

So once again, quo vadis Malaysia?

-masterwordsmith