Lesson for Najib: Don't turn Public Relations into Public Deception

There has been much news in the air and in print, lately, and in particular in the foreign media circuit. It seems that Malaysian politicians - decision makers and leaders have been made to believe by the many and varied consultants they engaged that they can use public relations to re-engineer perceptions in the global arena at the right price.

On the local scene too, we often hear about all kinds of tactics being engaged to make a wrong look right because of that same believe that public relations can cover up for you.

It is a pity that our leaders and decision makers have not been rightly educated on the demands, role, meaning and limitations of this art and science called public relations.

No small wonder then that the local media, more often, has also been inclined to equate public relations with spin doctoring - yet another gross distortion of the discipline called public relations.

This gross error is not surprising when you have greedy and so-called public relations consultants who are willing to compromise and throw all the ethical parameters of the very discipline they profess to market just for the sake of business (read as money).

Public relations cannot turn a 'wrong' into a 'right'

Likewise, although we have a half-a-century national public relations body in the country, there has been no public attempt by the professional outfit to correct the wrongs by taking a stand and/or taking permissible measures against any malpractice.

For the records, leaders and politicians need to be informed that public relations cannot make a wrong gloss over into a right. So any attempt to carry out any event, campaign, or communication exercise to shift the focus with the hope to create desired perceptions when the truth is not addressed, it certainly is not the work of public relations. In all likelihood such ill-informed attempts can only be labelled as public deception.

Public relations is anchored on trust building. Trust as humanity understands, is anchored on truth, humility, integrity and honesty. So if you have done wrong and wish to get your target audience to be more sympathetic and grant you a second chance, then public relations would demand that you confess upfront and then commit to correct what is wrong.

Twisting and turning or camouflaging the real issues does not fall within the realm of public relations. Such erroneous intentions and actions come under the purview of the art and science of public deception.

If you are dishonest, public relations cannot help you

Public relations can only be the means (i.e. the art and science) to get across your message and intentions effectively provided you are earnest, transparent and can be accountable to your audience in the first place.

The currency of public relations is not bench-marked by the high fees that you pay or the most exciting razzmatazz you can execute. That is spin-doctoring.

If you are dishonest or have questionable intentions, public relations cannot be of any service to you. You automatically negate this very art and science of communication.

Public Deception

When intentions are questionable then it is not public relations that is being engaged but the art and science of public deception that is at work. Public relations cannot do Houdini miracles.

There is more to this art and science called public relations that are appropriately and respectfully engaged by leading professionals the world over. But suffice for a start to have this Letter to Editor published.

Perhaps the national professional body for public relations in Malaysia should start an aggressive educational campaign to teach our leaders and politicians all about public relations so that they do not get fooled by con-sultants and end up wasting public funds and emerge greater fools in the eyes of the target audiences.

The professional body for public relations should also take appropriate action and make such action be known to the relevant audiences when people taint, diabolically slant and dishonour the very Codes of Public Relations practice.

The integrity and value of any profession is a shared responsibility that practitioners and consultants, academics and the professional body's executive members must vigilantly safeguard. By showing indifference or keeping safely mum in the face of abuse of the practice will only further tarnish and downgrade the discipline that these vested parties profess to practise.

Malaysia Chronicle