NO 'BOMOH' OR 'MAGIC' CAN SAVE NAJIB & ROSMAH ANYMORE: Reliance on spin doctors backfires badly

First it was APCO. Then it was one Mat Salleh who was also pictured boozing and partying. And the latest is a so called local ‘ad-mogul’.

What is common in all three engagements? It was all about using Public Relations to prop up, salvage and carve a pristine image of the prime minister of Malaysia as the world on the net kept battering away at his many flip-flops.

Now can we please stop abusing and tarnishing this science and art called Public Relations. The way the Najib’s administration is employing its so-called brand of Public Relations, it is no surprise why many have come to also brand public relations practitioners as ‘spin doctors’.

It is about time that the true public relations taught the prime minister’s office a thing or two about what this science and art can do but will never and cannot do.

Public Relations practice is far off from the magic wand of ferry godmothers and witches.

It cannot make appear and disappear truths and lies.

Your thoughts, words and deeds cannot be window dressed using public relations if you have failed to earn trust and confidence, hope and admiration from your audience.

Particularly so when you are holding the office of a prime minister as you need to appeal to all segments of society and factions of the political frameworks. The day you are having a divided court of public opinion with half the count clamoring for you to vacate the seat, you should know that any public relations attempt to redeem reputation can only be the work and promise of a con.

PR is not witchcraft

It is an established and respected discipline that can only peddle truths as it builds trust between people and organizations.

Far from advertising, public relations can only serve well when its cornerstone, i.e. creating understanding and acceptance is anchored on truth, transparency and full disclosure.

Half-truths and sugar-coats do not belong to this discipline.

What public relations can do is to shift prejudice to acceptance; ignorance to awareness; apathy to interest. But to do so successfully, the fundamentals must be in place.

PM Najib

The key to a successful public relations campaign therefore is honesty. You cannot on the one hand claim that you ‘will leave no stone unturned’ while at the same time, you remain distantly detached from the realities surrounding or concerning your citizens as you blast away saying, “Utter rubbish!”

If you are a diamond, public relations can profile you at the right time and at the right place so that your brilliance is enhanced to its maximum value. But if you are a silently cold and hardened stone, do not rely on public relations to turn you into a gleaming gemstone. That is the work of advertising that knows no morals.

And one other vital point that also needs to be made known to the public relations subscribers of the Najib administration is anyone who professes to give you public relations counsel or service must be forewarned that this profession demands ethics to the last letter.

You cannot bury the truth

Integrity is the yardstick.

Anyone who thinks he or she can persuade and win hearts and minds while burying truths and window dressing half-truths, is dead wrong. When the public discover the whole truth, there is zero mercy.

Hence, pay attention to public opinion. Dismissing the volumes of expressed concerns on the social media cannot be dismissed with a haughty, “do not believe the social media” remark.

Honest public relations practice will treat public opinion with great interest and serious respect.

In summary, if you want public relations to work for you be prepared to learn first that you must be prepared to tell what people want to know and not keep preaching to people what you want to tell or worst, what you only want them to know.

And of course there must be track record to begin with.

It is about time that the practising, true professionals and academics who teach public relations stood up and put a stop to the rot thrown on this disciple called public relations. - MAILBAG