Public Diplomacy

What is Public Diplomacy? You may have heard of "public diplomacy" and might be wondering what it means.

A diplomatic mission operating in a host country has a duty and responsibility to ensure that the publics in that country have an accurate update not only on foreign policy developments but also on domestic economic and security policies that have bearings on its country's image and reputation abroad. It is a major task for a diplomatic mission and this function is handled by the Information Section. This is briefly "public diplomacy".

In some academic books, public diplomacy is referred to as foreign 'propaganda' conducted or orchestrated by diplomats. In simple terms, the task of public diplomacy involves engaging the media and the non-media channels to put the country's policies in the correct perspective and to dispel any wrong impression about the country's policies.

In many countries, public diplomacy has become a major instrument of foreign policy. An important element of public diplomacy is media diplomacy where journalists are frequently engaged in diplomatic events and processes. Sometimes they even initiate diplomatic processes. The media functions both as an independent actor and as a tool in the hands of policy makers and journalists. Political scientists regard media diplomacy as dominating ingredients in contemporary international relations due to changes in mass communication, politics, and international relations.

Apart from media diplomacy, other components of public diplomacy are cultural diplomacy, public information, internal broadcasting, education and cultural programs, and political action. They provide the means of influencing foreign publics without the use of force. The now defunct US Information Agency defined public diplomacy as "promoting the national interest and national security of the United States through understanding, informing, and influencing foreign publics, and broadening dialogue between American citizens and institutions and their counterparts abroad". It is not surprising therefore for developed countries like USA, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan to be found using other avenues such as cultural and education centres, business forums, national press clubs and foreign correspondents clubs, and other forms of networking mechanisms to conduct beneficial activities to spread their influence internationally through public diplomacy.

Traditionally, it is often the role of the diplomatic mission in the receiving state to defend the interest of the sending state and to protect the interest of its nationals, within the limits permitted by the international laws. The duties of diplomatic mission also include negotiating with the government of the receiving state as directed by the sending state; ascertaining by lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving state, and reporting thereon to the government of the sending state; promoting friendly relations between the sending state and the receiving state, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relationship. The significance of diplomacy role for any nation state no doubt depends to a large extent on communication between government-to-government which involves the capability of diplomats in their advisory and implementation capacity. Yet the importance of public diplomacy directed at foreign audiences, counting on people-to-people contact, and influencing public opinion on key policies and issues, could not be ruled out.

Involvement in Public Diplomacy

Public diplomacy is very close to my heart because it had been my career for more than 20 years when I served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Wisma Putra from 1976 to 1999. The time spent during those days both at the Ministry in Kuala Lumpur and at four Malaysian diplomatic missions abroad - Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris and London - had been very interesting and indeed challenging. I regard the field as one of the most crucial tools in the practice of diplomacy. A public diplomacy that is proactive, well-coordinated, innovative and informative is essential in advancing the interest of the nation abroad.

From my experience, public diplomacy plays an important role, at least for Malaysia in the promotion of foreign policies, as it helps to communicate the nation’s interest abroad. Officially, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its information dissemination activities and public information channels to provide accurate information about the country’s position on domestic and foreign policy issues affecting the country’s image abroad. It is not incorrect to say that public diplomacy has to do with public relations practices at the international level in creating harmony and avoidance of conflicts. In the words of John Paluszek of Global Alliance, harmony is the objective of macro public relations.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) there exists a department, presently called the Department of Information and Public Diplomacy, which looks after media relations, publicity and promotion, visits of foreign journalists, organizing media events, and reputation or image building. Abroad, public diplomacy role at diplomatic missions is carried out by the information attaché or a diplomatic officer assigned to carry out such responsibility. His or her main task is to communicate the nation’s policies and interests abroad through public diplomacy channels like the media and the non-media entities including the non-governmental bodies. It is important for the international audiences to have a positive and balance picture of the country in terms of the national policies and practices to be seen in accordance with the accepted international code of behavior. The country must be projected as politically stable and enjoying economic development and promoting social justice and harmony. Public diplomacy role is therefore to ensure a sustained image and to manage the country's reputation with the view to maintain a positive and favorable impression of Malaysia among the international community, that would be useful to facilitate trade and draw foreign direct investments.

The Department of Information and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Affairs (Wisma Putra) was earlier known as the External Information Division which came into being in 1970. The division was staffed and managed by officers trained in information and public relations field, most of whom were seconded from the Ministry of Information. Some of them came from journalism or public relations background and had considerable working experiences in the mass media or public relations agencies. Others were recruited directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with qualification in mass communication or public relations when the Ministry had wanted to have its set of officers, trained in the field to serve the Ministry on a continuous basis, whose experiences in the field would be beneficial in long term.

Early Years

Among the issues that required immediate attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the early years of its inception was the promotion of Malaysia as an independent and a sovereign nation in the eyes of the world community particularly after the May 13 1969 black incident. Following this incident was the urgency to defend the affirmative action policy, the New Economic Policy, the two-pronged blue print with the objectives to eradicate poverty and restructure society. The policy had been perceived as discriminatory towards the non-Bumiputra population.

As a newly independent nation, Malaysia needed to position itself among the international players. Public relations overseas was then considered important to explain and defend Malaysia's policies. This was carried out with a good reason because Malaysia had received negative coverage in the international media, especially the western media whose slanted and bias reporting of the issues had put the country in bad light in the eyes of the international community. The western media had influenced their perception of Malaysia as a democratic country with a multiracial and multicultural population.

Next is the issue of how Malaysia handled its immediate neighbours. The experience of Malaysia-Indonesia confrontation from 1963 to 1965 affecting bilateral relations between the two countries was a lesson that went to show the importance of building good relations with our neighbours instead of looking at distant countries like the United Kingdom (in the case of Malaysia) or Netherlands (in the case of Indonesia), who were former colonial masters, to come to our assistance in times of needs. The realisation on the importance of countries in Southeast Asia taking care of the interest of neighbouring states had led to the formation of ASEAN in August 1967, which was indeed very significant. Hence during the early years, ASEAN needed to be emphasized as the cornerstone of Malaysia’s foreign policy.

Foreign Policy Issues

Under the premiership of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the nation’s foreign policy adopted a much greater economic orientation in the country’s external relations while championing the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries. This approach led to the advocacy of the South-South Cooperation, a more proactive role in the G-77, the establishment of the G-15 and the ‘Look East Policy’ being instituted. This shift to the East had greatly influenced Malaysia’s economic development. Malaysia became the voice of the developing world and was a role model for many developing countries as it became well known for its active stance at the United Nations and other international conferences.

Malaysia also emphasized the importance of its role in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and actively engaged in the Non-Aligned Countries (NAM), the Commonwealth, Group of Seventy Seven (G77), and Developing Eight (D8). No less important has been the country’s continued active participation in the United Nations and other international organisations.

Under the present leadership of Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia continues to project a forward-looking and pragmatic foreign policy whilst continuing to facilitate trade, attract foreign investments as well as project Malaysia as a stable and peaceful country. Najib's reform package, including the New Economic Model and the Government and Economic Transformation Programmes, aimed at taking the nation into high-income bracket, are efforts that require attention, especially from potential investors and economists. In the decade leading up to 2020, Malaysia has to deal with great changes in the global environment whilst improving and upgrading the country’s domestic conditions. Recognising this challenge, Malaysia’s foreign policy would continue to focus on protecting national interests while contributing responsibly towards the building of a fair and just world. This development certainly calls for a more enhanced role for public diplomacy to establish a credible image for Malaysia in the eyes of the international community.

Tribute

Looking back, I had the opportunity to work under the guidance of distinguished and prominent diplomats like Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil Jaafar, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, the late Datuk Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Dato' Kamaruddin Abu, the late Dato' Ismail Ambia and Dato' Shahuddin Mohamed Taib. They were my mentors and they had been instrumental in guiding me to focus and sustain my interest in the field of diplomacy in general, and public diplomacy in particular.

One cannot rule out the importance of public diplomacy role in getting the right message across to the international audiences in building mutually beneficial relationship and in contributing towards national interest.

We cannot run away from the fact that Malaysia and Indonesia do share the same culture since time immemorial.

I for one started to appreciate Indonesian literature as our very own during school days in the 70s when a number of Indonesian novels became essential reading in Form Six. Reading the article by Johan Jaaffar (NST, 4 September) triggers memory of how I began to view with great interest the Indonesian literature, films and songs at a young age.

No doubt novelists like Merari Seregar, Marah Rusli, Abdul Muis, Sultan Takdir Alishahbana, Hamka, and Pramoedya Anantatoer were really big names then. I still remember enjoying reading "Siti Norbaya", a love story written by novelist Abdul Muis, and another one, "Atheis", by novelist Achiat Miharja, detailing some of the great philosophies of life. The legendary Hamka's "Di Bawah Lindungan Kaaba" and "Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wiijck" made interesting reading and I was fascinated by both the background of the author and his writing.

Some of the words and phrases written in "Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wijck" as expressed by the protagonists Zainuddin and Hayati in their love letters and exchanges were beautifully written and I still admired them until today. Then there is this novel "Keluarga Gerilya" by Pramoedya Anantatoer which vividly described the poverty situation and social problems during and after the great wars. I also remember the poet Chairil Anwar whose Angkatan 45 had inspired novelists like Usman Awang, A. Samad Ismail and Masuri S.N to form Angkatan Sasterawan 50 or ASAS 50.

The works of these literary figures were critically examined in our Malay Literature class then, and that's how I began to have an appreciation for literature writing, and more importantly for me,  the exposure to the great minds of the Indonesian literary figures on the meanings and philosophies of life. 

I also grew up with popular Indonesian songs and music. Beng Selamat and Ernie Johan were real big names as we could hear their songs prominently aired on Radio Malaya and Radio Malaysia then. As far as I can remember, Ernie Johan was popular with her song Teluk Bayur. Others were Broery Mirantika, Lilis Suryani and Bob Tutopoli whose popular oldie, sentimental song "Semalam di Malaya" is still my favourite.

Among the popular actors and actresses were Dicky Zulkarnain, Sukarno M. Noor, Rahmat Kartolo, Sopan Sofian, Widhiyawatie, Marlinie, and certainly Christine Hakim. I still keep a photograph I took with Christine during the Asian Film Festival in Tokyo in the eighties.

Of course currently we all know popular artistes Kris Diyanti and Rossa. The latest movies like "Si Pitung", "Perkahwinan Remaja", "Ada Apa Dengan Cinta" dan "Ayat-Ayat Cinta" are just fantastic in terms of both the stories and production. They have affected and moved us.  Watching "Ayat-Ayat Cinta"  recently has moved me by the beauty of its acting, and especially the story based on students' life and what love means.

Teaching at IIUM currently has given me the opportunity to get to know the Indonesian students closer. Many of my Indonesian students were known to me personally and most have been motivated to continue further studies in Malaysia after getting their first degree. I have great appreciation and admiration for the interest shown in their studies as well as their respect for me and the institution. Two of them deserved special mentioning: Zakirah Azman (who hailed from Acheh) currently pursuing her masters degree in IIUM and Rinelda Revisionary who just graduated, and currently employed by the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.

Because of the "serumpun" nature of our relationship both historically and socially we cannot afford not to have a liking for each other!! One wonders why the BENDERA group is making so much of a fuss about the recent incidents (which have been resolved) that would not contribute towards a healthy relationship between our two countries.

Traditionally Malaysia considers Indonesia as one of its closest neighbors. However, the recent spate of demonstrations and protests in front of our embassy in Jakarta by a small group of Indonesians claimed to be from the nationalist People's Defence of Democracy (BENDERA) did not augur well in the state of our bilateral relations.

It seems it is the same group that threatened to attack us with sticks and stones over the alleged mistreatment of Indonesian maids and over the 'tarian pendek' which they considered this an act of stealing by Malaysia from them. This time it is over the alleged detention of three of their maritime and fishery officials by the Malaysian authorities. Seven Malaysian fishermen were also reported to have been detained by the Indonesian authorities on August 16. But the detainees of both sides have since been released.

The demonstrators even openly told the Indonesian media that they would 'sweep' Malaysians in town, and shave them before sending them back. This statement sounds very arrogant. And obviously we fear for the safety of Malaysians there.

I share the sentiments of most Malaysians to feel hurt to see the Indonesians whom we regard as Muslim bothers are doing this in the holy month of Ramadan ( this should be the month of forgiveness) and at a time we are celebrating our 53rd anniversary of Independence. The act of storming our embassy and throwing human faeces into its compound, and stomping on our flag, the Jalur Gemilang, is uncalled for, and should not have come from those whom we regard as friends. Short of saying ungrateful, these protesters forgot that there are more than one million Indonesians seeking their livelihood in Malaysia, legally as well as illegally.

The good thing about we Malaysians is that we have been keeping cool and exercising restraints. We have been noble in not reacting or retaliating. Our media too have reacted responsibly, without going to the extent of instigating or provoking Malaysians to retaliate or to take extreme actions. I notice our Foreign Minister, Datuk Anifah Aman too has been very cautious and calculative in his statements when advising Malaysians not to visit Indonesia if situation escalates. He did this so as not to jeopardize the good relationship that Malaysia enjoys with Indonesia. Officially too the Ministry did not issue a travel advisory as such.

We are happy to note that the Malaysian government has called on the Indonesian authorities to take stern actions to control the demonstrators and to protect the security of our embassy as well as the safety of Malaysians there as contained under the Vienna Convention.

However, I am not surprised that there are calls from some quarters in Malaysia for Indonesia to apologize over the incidents.

Public relations is still considered a young profession for a developing country like Malaysia, compared to other long established ones like law, engineering, medical, accountancy and architecture, nevertheless efforts are not spared to raise the profession to a status that all practitioners should be proud of. Getting practitioners to be professionally accredited is one such measure.

Last Saturday, 28 August 2010, I was on a panel of the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM) together with Dato' Shaikh Sulaiman and Puan Rasila Hamzah (both of them are public relations consultants) to decide on the conferment of the Accredited Public Relations Practitioner (APR) status for three public relations personalities. They are Dr. Ramanathan Sankaran, a former UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA) lecturer and now a public relations consultant,  Dr. Jamilah Ahmad, a lecturer with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang and Puan Nur Saidatul, a lecturer from UiTM.

Candidates seeking for accreditation status are required under the Institute's procedures for accreditation to appear before a panel to present their case and defend their credentials. 

The IPRM has taken in its stride since the year 2000 to give voluntary accreditation to practitioners who are professionally qualified to carry with their name the title "APR" once they have fulfilled the set criteria and upon approval by the panel set up by the Institute.  The first batch of APRs received their status from the patron in August 2005 and I was fortunate to be one of those. The panel members to sit on the committee to decide on the APR status should be an APR holder and must have earned a fellowship (FIPR) of the Institute. As for me, I am also currently sitting on the Council, holding the portfolio of Honorary Secretary.

The first presentation by Dr. Sankaran was on the topic of  "Crisis Communication" where he emphasized the importance for organizations to have crisis communication plan in place to address crisis situation at any time. Crisis Communication is an important aspect of public relations job to restore public confidence and rebuild the image of organizations as result of crisis situation whether man-made, or caused by mechanical faults, or following an act of God.

His other presentation was his research and assessment on how Malaysia has progressed this far in meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by the year 2015, in relations to poverty eradication, empowerment of women, children, economic progress, environmental care and partnership for development. Citing statistics from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the presentation highlighted some of Malaysia's achievement on human capital development, the status of women and children, and economic progress as evidenced from its Gross National Income. According to his assessment, compared to its neighbours in the Asian region,  Malaysia is doing quite well in meeting the objectives set by the world body.

Dr. Sankaran was in fact my former lecturer (he taught me editorial writing) when I was studying at UiTM back in the seventies. He is currently holding the chair for IPRM, Johore chapter, and a country representative at the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), based in Singapore. He also identifies himself with the Wawasan Open University, where he works closely with Mr. U.K. Menon, the university's deputy vice chancellor, who was also my communication law lecturer back then in UiTM..

I have high regards for my guru Dr. Sankaran, who despite his age at almost 70 now,  is still very active and in wanting to spend his time to raise the standard of public relations practices.  He is at present a public relations consultant with Media Plus Consultancy, based in Johor Bahru.

The presentation by Dr. Jamilah Ahmad was in relations to her involvement in event management and her research project, particularly on the environment and the green projects in Penang. During her presentation she highlighted her recent project involving the New Millennium Graduates (NEMGRADS) as part of the University's Corporate  Social Responsibility (CSR) programme and her recent involvement on green campaigns which have attracted a lot of attention from the corporate sector, the NGOs and the mass media. She is very much into voluntary social and environmental work trying to uplift public awareness of related issues.

I had the opportunity to attend and observe the CSR environment project and seminar held in USM, 13 to 14 March 2010 together with Prof. Mohd Hamdan Adnan, IPRM's President and Associate Prof. Dr. Kiranjit Kaur, the chair person for education bureau, which was led by Dr. Jamilah.

Dr. Jamilah is a graduate of UiTM and obtained her doctorate from  Deakins University, Australia. Being the vice chair of IPRM, Penang chapter, she is very active, full of determination and enthusiasm to do more to promote the visibility of public relations profession especially in environmental and green projects. Before moving to her present position at USM,  Dr. Jamilah has lectured at UiTM for several years.

Puan Nur Saidatul had given her perspective on Crisis Communication plan of two GLCs or government-linked companies: PETRONAS, the national oil company, and PROTON, the national car project. Her presentation was based on the content analysis research carried out by her on the two prominent GLCs with regard to how these organizations manage the media during crisis situations or handling of emergency response. The presentation threw significant lights on the importance for Crisis Management team and procedures to be triggered during crisis situations. Puan Nur Saidatul is currently pursuing her doctorate in communication at UiTM.

All the three candidates have shown their strengths in their respective areas for what they are capable of embarking as professionals to further the interest of public relations and to uplift its status academically and professionally.

One of the core communication subjects that I enjoyed teaching since joining the university is Contemporary Issues in Mass Communication. The subject is normally offered to students at levels 3 and 4. Students who intend to take up this subject should have a basic understanding of communication concepts and principles and must have done the prerequisites in their respective specialization. That is why I do not encourage students on level 2 to sign up for the subject because without sufficient knowledge of mass communication theories and practices and a critical mind for understanding of contemporary issues, I am afraid they would not be able to carry through. I have, in fact, rejected some of those who I feel are still not yet prepared for the subject.

On the whole, the subject is designed to equip students with current knowledge of the working of the mass media and an understanding of communication process and theories and practices of communication in relations to topics like concentration of ownership and conglomeration, power game, media literacy and audience response to the changes in media landscape.

The subject is pretty wide and extensive and students are required to have a good grasp and a fairly broad understanding of current issues and how the mass media report and interpret issues from different perspectives. And this could be achieved only if students are prepared to do extra reading and involved in serious thinking over the subject matter. I do not wish to see students learning the subject like 'parrots' vomiting out raw facts given to them in the notes delivered during lectures, without being able to articulate their views. They would not be learning any thing much if they choose the easy way out. What I attempted to do so far in my teaching is to provoke their minds to think 'out of the box' so that they would be able to apply the knowledge intelligently when they leave the university to join the industry.

To make the subject more lively and interesting, students are engaged in discussions to critique issues and critically analyze media content and relate to media ownership and concepts like ideology, hegemony, power and domination, press freedom, cultural imperialism, democracy and globalization. Apart from that, they have to examine the use of language and words of high-level abstraction by the mass media in influencing audiences' perception.

Another related topic is the new technology, particularly the internet which has brought changes to the media landscape, and how traditional media needs to reconsider their position in terms of message, content, style and approach to remain relevant, and to meet the demand of the sophisticated audiences which have become increasingly fragmented. And related to this subject is the new media and the questions of overlapping roles of content providers and content consumers. They also need to examine issues of media convergence and its consequences.

On completing the subject students should be able to see things in clear perspective, unbiased in a way, and to look at the big picture and be aware of the intricacies and complexities involved in the media industry and communication as a whole. It is hoped that when students graduate they would be able to adapt and position themselves well in the industry.

Even though the subject may appear simplistic, I find some students still lacking in their ability to understand the principles and concepts or to see things beyond textbooks and notes given to them. Most can't even differentiate the implicit from the explicit or to see the hidden meaning or agenda behind issues examined.

How I wish to see students taking this subject have a higher level of maturity, a critical and inquisitive mind, and an ability to look at situations more holistically!!!

I am proud to be an old Edwardian. I started going to King Edward VII School in 1962  when I joined Special Malay Class 1 (SMC1) after 4 years in Malay primary school in Taiping.

Located in the mining and heritage town of Taiping, the school has long years of history. It first began as a Central School in 1883. The traces of history can still be seen in some of the school buildings in Upper Stephen Road which reflect colonial architecture. In fact, the present primary school along Station Road was a former railway station. Opened by the then Sultan of Perak in 1906, the school was named after King Edward VII who succeeded to the throne of England in 1901. When I was in London in mid 1990s I realized that some public schools in England resembled that of my school in terms of their architecture.

In the past since its beginning, the headmasters of the school used to be British. The first headmaster was  R.F. Stainer. When I went to secondary school in 1965, the school was already headed by a Malaysian, Mr. Long Heng Hua. A graduate of the University of Malaya, he was in fact, the first local to be appointed as its principal. The school prides itself of the Tiger logo and its motto, Magni Nominis Umbra, which means under the Shadow of the Great.

The thing I remember most about my school is the quality of its teachers. They were not only dedicated and committed to teaching but were also real sources of inspiration and motivation. Most of them were strict disciplinarians, which explained why we, students, had no choice but to focus attention in our studies.Of course, there was also time to play and to run around in the field. Many of the teachers, particularly the English language teachers were trained in Kerby or Brinsford Lodge in England. We also had British volunteers directly imported from United Kingdom. Others were trained in Raffles College in Singapore and University of Malaya (in Singapore then).

Some of my favorite teachers were Miss Khoo (unfortunately I could not remember her full name) who was my form teacher in SMC1 and SMC2 , and Mr. Rahmat Ali who taught me English language when I was in forms1 and 2. Mr.Lim Swee Chin (whose brother was a popular politician of the day Mr. Lim Swee Aun) taught me Geography in forms 4 and 5 but he was such a fierce-looking teacher that most of my classmates were so scared of him. Our History master was known by the nick name "Junjong", a Punjabi,  who was also the school's senior assistant.

My other favorite teacher was Raja Mahtra Raja Kamaralzaman (the daughter of the Raja Di Hilir of Perak then) who taught me English Literature in form five. She was my form teacher later when I went to form six.  She too was an old Edwardian who earned both bachelor's and master's degree from Victoria University, New Zealand. Two other teachers who taught me Malay language and Malay literature in forms 5 and 6 were Miss Rabitah and Miss Arfah Aziz respectively. Miss Rabitah was a graduate of University of Malaya and Miss Arfah graduated from Toronto University, Canada. Miss Arfah later on acquired her doctorate and left the school to join the Ministry of Education.

My interest to go into communication field later in my life was actually inspired by all these teachers.

The unique thing about my school was the multiracial character. This was not surprising because of its location in Taiping, a multiracial town itself. Being a multiracial school we have learned to tolerate among various races at young age. The multiracial nature gave us the atmosphere of a healthy competition in our class. I remember those days having to compete with some of the bright Chinese students from wealthy background. If you are talking about "1Malaysia concept" it was in fact there already in the 1960s.

We also had students from the rural areas outside Taiping who were housed in the school's hostel. I remember some of my classmates who hailed from as far as Batu Kurau and Selama. These were bright students who later on went to university and became engineers, doctors, lawyers and professionals. The school was popular for rugby and our rival in the game was Malay College Kuala Kangsar, a boarding school mainly populated by the elites.

Indeed, the past headmasters or principals, teachers and students had all contributed to making King Edward VII School or KEVII  for what it had proudly stood... Today the Tiger spirit still roars...

Last week on Wesak Day (28 May), the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM) hosted "Fellow meets Fellow Dinner" at Lake Club. Distinguished guests at the dinner were YB P. Kamalanathan, the newly-elected MP for Hulu Selangor and his wife. Also present among others were IPRM president Dato Mohd Hamdan Adnan, former president Shameem Abdul Jalil, Dr. Kiranjit Kaur, a UiTM lecturer and IPRM council member, and Hamidah Karim, a public relations consultant and a fellow of IPRM.

Kamalanathan in fact had been a council member of IPRM and had served as honorary secretary for two years before I assumed the post in 2008. The dinner was indeed also in his honor for IPRM  to express its sincere gratitude and congratulations to Kamalanathan for having won the by-election and making his way to parliament.

In his speech thanking the council members for inviting him to the dinner, he said he owed his victory very much to the practice of public relations. He was proud to say it was his public relations career and his involvement as a public relations practitioner that taught him many lessons in politics and to handle campaigns that he had to go through recently. He said he applied most of the principles of human relations and public relations throughout the political campaigns. Of course he received good support from the nation's leadership as well as the mainstream media. In fact, he has had a good rapport and a close working relations with the mainstream media even before he was nominated as a candidate for the election. He was widely exposed to the media and obviously he did not face much of a problem in getting positive coverage and attention in the media. He thanked IPRM for him to have had the opportunity to gain experience and professional exposure while serving the professional body.

The fact that a former council member of IPRM and a public relations practitioner has successfully made his way to parliament to represent a constituency is a real pride to IPRM. It shows the practice of public relations is useful every where, including in politics and in building a credible image. We therefore would like to wish YB Kamalanathan a success in his career and future endeavor as well as in his contributions to the nation.

In the words of the IPRM President, "This is just the beginning. Certainly a lot more challenges await the new MP, particularly in meeting the needs and expectations of voters...  Come the next general election in two or three years' time it would be a real test for him whether or not he has delivered."

Tributes go to my teachers who strive very hard to take me to where I am today. As we celebrate Teachers Day today we do not forget the contributions teachers made to the progress of  a nation as well as to our own achievement as individuals.

When I first started to go school (it was just a year after Malaya achieved its Independence),  situations then were obviously far different from the present time. Even during the sixties when I was in secondary school and later in the seventies, when I went to the university, situations were very different from what it is today. Everything was marked by inadequacies and shortcomings, from classrooms to textbooks, and from library and to all other facilities. But it was the teachers' drive, strong will, and their commitment to teach and to educate their students that have made what most of us are today - some are now holding responsible positions and in leadership role in respective fields or professions. Yes, it is both the patience and the passion in the teachers that have brought about these changes in our social landscape.

Today after having served the Malaysian government for thirty one years, both at home and abroad, and retired from the job, there is somewhat a call of duty for me to contribute in a small way to the field of education. I actually wanted to pursue my career in teaching when I was still in school, but situations did not seem to favor me to join the academic world because the pull of the excitements in the field was far greater than teaching. Looking back, however, I have no regret as the experience I had acquired over the years in the field of public relations, communication and public diplomacy are indeed very useful because I am now able to relate convincingly to the real happenings in my lectures and presentations that I give my students today.

It has been almost two years at IIUM now and I enjoy myself being a teacher or a lecturer. Before assuming full-time teaching at IIUM,  I have had the opportunity to teach at the National Institute of Public Administration, the IKRAM Training and Infrastructural Development Institute, and UiTM and all these experiences in teaching and training gave me the added confidence.

Amidst the new setting, particularly the knowledge environment (the garden of knowledge and virtues) teaching young people give me renewed energy and a vision to pursue. I admit, this is a paying-back time where I should share and contribute my knowledge and experience to the new generation who will soon replace the old generation which is slowly fading away. The present younger set of graduates needs guidance and mentoring to enable them to go out into the real world and to survive the new challenges that are abound. They need all the motivation and the inspiration to move on. If what I have learned from my teachers have helped me to be where I am today,  it is definitely my hope to see my students benefit from my teaching today in the years ahead!!!

Early last month I wrote in my Facebook drawing attention to the readers on the report of the recent move to act on smokers. I quote: " For cigarette smokers nationwide, your days of congenital puffing are breathtakingly numbered, first by being chased out of restaurants, air-conditioned shopping malls and government buildings, followed by stiffer imposition of sales tax and duties, and now a ban on the ubiquitous 14-pack..." Following this quote I wrote a provocative statement, "Is smoking still an act of cool savagery? Think of the fatal ill-effects smoking can cause!!!"

To my surprise, I did not receive much response from Facebook friends. Personally I am strongly against habitual smoking. Apart from being a threat and a nuisance to our health, it is also tightening on monthly budget. The worst consequence is not just on the smokers themselves but also on the non-smokers, because smoking would indirectly affect them as passive smokers. 

There have been a lot of efforts already carried out by the authorities in Malaysia to curb smoking. Among others are public relations campaigns carried out from time to time by relevant agencies. The biggest campaign was the 'Tak Nak' campaign launched sometime in the 1990s when the government spent millions of ringgit to create no-smoking awareness, particularly among the younger generation. But to what extent this campaign has been successful could be seen from the habit that still prevails largely among our people. Apart from current efforts like banning smoking in public places such as shopping complex, government premises, cinemas, all modes of transportation, university campuses, smoking prohibition among teenagers, and imposition of sales tax and duties on cigarettes, there ought to be more aggressive measures and commitment by the authorities.

I am impressed by Australia's bold move to ban logos and branding on cigarette packets as reported in the newspapers yesterday. Cigarettes will be sold in plain, standardized packages carrying large graphic warnings against smoking and the brand name will appear in small print from 2012, under proposed new legislation.
The move is bound to spark furious response from the tobacco industry. This is going to be the most hard line move as the Australian government has also planned to curb tobacco advertising on the Internet. "Cigarettes are not cool, cigarettes kill people," said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He added,"The government makes no apology for what we are doing - it's the right decision."

In Malaysia too, if the government were to take such serious measures there is bound to be adverse reactions from the tobacco growers and the industries related to it. The agriculture department for one would have to think of the alternative crop to replace tobacco. They would have to examine the total impact on the income to the growers and what other cash crops could be grown to supplement their income.

If the graphic warning on 'smoking is dangerous to health' that appear on cigarette packets  is not effective enough to scare away smokers, what other measures can we think of? Should we follow the Australian move?

If we are traveling in Europe, USA or Japan and most developed countries it is not strange to see commuters in public transports like trains and buses spending their time reading books or magazines. But in Malaysia we rarely find such a habit being practiced among our people. Most would prefer to doze off while traveling in public transports instead of reading. Why is it so?

I am aware that much efforts have been done to encourage reading among Malaysians at all levels of age but this have not been very successful because we choose not to adopt reading as a culture. No doubt we have been able to create a society that is literate but we have not really created a society that is well read. Despite the many campaigns and efforts by various parties at inculcating such habit, much left to be desired.

As we move towards a developed nation status, we cannot afford to take things for granted and hope every thing would materialize by itself. We are moving more into knowledge-based economy wherein there is increasing needs to focus on knowledge as a source to develop our economy. We have no choice but to develop reading into a culture. Reading extensively would not only increase one's knowledge in various fields but would also open up his mind to new ideas and innovations, and stimulate creativity in thinking.and action.

We need to turn reading into a culture to be practiced by all. How do we do it? I cannot claim to be an expert in developing a formula or in giving solutions to the problem. However, as a layman I look at the following 4-pronged approaches which could be workable:

• at home where parents have a role to instill and encourage reading among children at early age
• at schools/tertiary institutions where teachers and educationists should take serious actions to encourage and nurture reading habits
• government agencies to promote reading materials and encourage literary development
• the aggressive role of the media (both print and electronic media) to drive the message to the readers and help publicize book reviews and literary contents in their columns or programs

These are basic outline of suggestions which I hope could be thought-provoking for those who would consider devising appropriate strategies.

Parents, particularly those who are educated, should take upon themselves the responsibilities to instill reading habit among their children at young age. They must expose them to reading and develop their interest in books that would expose them to knowledge and improve their vocabulary. Some parents would rather spend money on other personal things than on books for their children but such attitude must change.

Teachers and educationists too should take serious steps to encourage students to inculcate and nurture reading habits among children by developing and upgrading library facilities and investing on good books and reading materials, and technology, including internet. Our education system must move away from focusing on academic books alone, but students must be encouraged to venture beyond text books and lecture notes. They must be motivated and encouraged to make intelligent use of other materials to relate to subjects or course content to have a wholesome approach to education.

Generally speaking books in Malaysia are quite expensive if we were to compare to average income earned by individuals. As a result, not many people would be prepared to spend their money on books because they have other priorities to spend. This does not bade well for those who are really interested in books but could not afford to pay. Therefore if relevant government authorities could examine this problem and perhaps take steps to reduce the costs of books, this would further boost the interest of readers, at same time would promote literary development and encourage the contribution by writers.

The media can play an important role to sow the seeds of interest in reading among audience through their columns and programs. Book reviews could be published by newspapers and commentaries openly discussed and aired on television. Media must make an aggressive move and create an interest among readers not only focusing on the writers and contents but also highlighting the kind of knowledge readers would benefit.

I know that at various government departments too senior ranking civil servants are required to read 2 or 3 books per month to improve their performance and increase productivity. However, it does not mean much if this practice is imposed on them by the higher-ups or authorities. Individuals must be made to be conscious of the need to continue to improve themselves, only then they would develop a liking towards books and adopt reading habit voluntarily.

I believe reading should be turned into a culture if we want to progress. Parents, teachers, educationists, civil servants, and media practitioners certainly have as much responsibilities in fulfilling such a goal.

English is a must if we want to survive in a competitive environment and progress in a globalized world. English is important to conduct business with the outside world since Malaysia is a trading nation. English is the language for knowledge seeking as we move towards knowledge-based economy.  That is the reason why the government continues to emphasize the importance of the language particularly at the tertiary level.

When I first started lecturing at the university two years ago after my retirement from the government service, I was surprised to find the standard of English among majority of students was much to be desired. Coming from the industry myself, I am fully aware of the expectations of the industry. Apart from that graduates are expected to have good communication skills.

To be proficient in English students have no choice but to learn it the hard way, meaning they need to do it constantly and consistently. They need to read extensively. They need to improve their writing. Above all they must have the commitment and the desire to improve. I find there are a lot of opportunities now for students to improve their English, unlike during my days when I was a student. They should use opportunities available like the internet and library facilities where all kinds of information, publications and books are available. They must also take pains to think and write proper English. They should learn to express themselves in proper English and practice good writing. Practice makes perfect, so goes the saying! But sad to say some do not even read newspapers, beyond lecture notes and text books. How could they improve then?

During the number of classes that I taught in the last 6 semesters I had tried my best to motivate students to improve their English in terms of writing and speaking. I always find time to correct simple mistakes students used to make, sometimes repeatedly. Those who have attended my class would know the attention I gave to their mistakes like grammar, sentence construction, tenses, prepositions, and spellings. Yes, I am pretty serious because I feel duty bound to correct the mistakes students make so that they would learn those mistakes once and for all.

Students who graduated from universities, particularly from international university like IIUM, are expected to have a certain level of proficiency of English. Otherwise, would it not be an embarrassment to potential employers of the university that you come from? Think of that!!

This short semester I have been asked by the Head of Department to teach Diplomatic Communication. I have taught this subject in the last two long semesters, and in semester1 in the next session the subject has also been offered to me to teach. I accepted the offer to teach although I first thought I would like to take a break so that I can concentrate on reviewing my research proposal. Despite my busy schedule and my present age, I have a plan to complete my PhD degree which I have left in the limbo for some years now.

One good reason why I was asked to teach this subject is because of the experience I have gone through serving more than 20 years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and four Malaysian diplomatic missions abroad. My job then revolved largely around public diplomacy, media management and public relations at the international level. This experience is useful because I would be able to see things better and relate to reality. I wanted to share this experience.

This subject is rather wide because students need to have sufficient background of international politics, international relations, diplomacy, history, economy, contemporary issues, and culture as well as areas related to humanities, apart from strong foundation in communication. They must also have a critical mind and an ability to analyze issues holistically. They must examine communication in relations to diplomacy, negotiation, building relations, and management and avoidance of conflicts. There are also issues in relations to bilateral and multilateral context. For example, bilateral issues between Malaysia and its neighbors and friendly countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Americas. Multilateral issues would include human rights, environment, women, children, poverty, economy, energy, defence and security. Related to the multilateral issues will be an understanding of the roles of organizations and institutions like the United Nations, ASEAN, Organization of Islamic Conference, Commonwealth, and Non-Aligned Movement. Students are also expected to understand protocol, conventions, consular and immigration matters. All in all students should have a good grasp of a whole range of international issues and communication.

Students with a good command of the English language would have an additional strength because they would be able to express themselves better. Most importantly, they should be able to make sense of the intricacies and complexities of issues involved in diplomacy and the international context.

I guess not many people are aware that the role the Department of Information in government public relations stretched back to as early as 1940s before Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957. The department set up during the British administration became the public relations arms of the government then to disseminate information to win the hearts and minds of the people against the communist terrorists who were fighting for their cause.

If you are familiar with Grunig and Hunt theory you would realize that the model adopted by the Department at that time was press agentry/publicity and public information, which is mainly one-way information flow in the distribution of publicity and information materials to create awareness of what the authorities were doing for the people in terms of security protection.

After Independence the Department continued to play an important role to create public awareness of government policies aimed at bringing about harmony, stability and progress for the people. The approach taken by the department later was more on inter-personal communication through meet the people session in rural areas including through screening of special documentaries of films produced by Filem Negara (national film unit) to add a visual impact of what the government did or was trying to do for the people. Those of my generation would remember the tiger symbol of the film unit that became popular among the audiences. This approach was in fact a two-way asymmetrical communication model that saw feedback being gathered from various publics. However, there were more persuasive elements to tackle the targeted audiences. Indeed it has taken the Department an active role to manage public perception towards the government and in ensuring that the people supported the government's policies to bring about development for the people.

Today after more than 60 decades of its existence the Department is considered still relevant despite technological and communication advancement which to some may see the Department as redundant. However, the Department must continue to make adjustment especially in the current context of the new media where there is greater demand for transparency and openness. Unless the Department is prepared to make changes or adjustments I am afraid it might not progress the way the nation would expect it in meeting the increasing challenges of the globalized era. Its future would hinge very much on greater professionalism and commitment towards such demands!!

One of the functions of the diplomatic missions abroad is to dispel or to correct any misconception about the country's policies that are featured in the foreign media. This job is normally carried out by the Information or Press Consellor in missions abroad. This is part of media diplomacy and public diplomacy role whereby the Information man is required to make efforts to cultivate the foreign media in order to give the correct perspective of the country or the government he represents.

There is often a tendency for the foreign media to sensationalize or interpret certain issues from a perspective that is colored or based on their value judgment. More often, the media would slant the news which is biased towards their perspective and would make it appear that the country is not doing the right thing. If certain misreported, misrepresented or even twisted facts are not corrected immediately, there is a likelihood that the public will form a negative impression. This will not do good for the country as it could influence potential investors who are interested to invest in the country. In the long run, such negative impression created by the media could even affect the nation's economy.

If the image of the country continues to be wrongly perceived by the foreign media or the international public, the government may even have to resort to appointing a public relations company to deal with such situation to bring back a positive image of the country. This is called reputation management whereby certain public relations strategies need to be put in place immediately to counter the adverse image. As reported in the local media recently, circumstances have forced the Malaysian government to engage a US-based public relations consultancy Apco Worldwide to do the job. This is not the first time the Malaysian government has resorted to such an action. The services of international public relations consultancies were also engaged during the eighties and the nineties to counter adverse campaigns by NGOs and social and environmental activists against tropical timber and palm oil in Europe and USA respectively.

I too had the experience in handling media diplomacy and to put into action some of the planned public relations strategies when I was serving in two European capitals - Paris and London - during the eighties and nineties. In the final analysis it is important to put Malaysia's image in the right perspective. After all it boils down to the defence of national interest!!

Today (25 April 2010) is voting day for Hulu Selangor (P094) by-election. The people will cast their votes to decide who would be their representative in Parliament for the term ending 2013. The election is an indication of the healthy practice of democratic process in Malaysia. While I am not actively into politics, as a responsible citizen, I am somewhat politically conscious of political development in the country. It is important there is political stability to ensure that we would continue to make significant progress. For stability to be attained, there must be continuation of policies, and these policies should be acceptable to the majority. Both candidates are known to me. Datuk Zaid Ibrahim was together with me studying in UiTM in early seventies. He was an active and outspoken student leader then, and as far as I can remember, his thoughts and ideas have been very liberal from the student days. Meanwhile, P. Kamalanathan was my predecessor as Honorary Secretary of the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM) just before me. As a public relations practitioner he too has been an active Council Member of the Institute making contribution towards the success of the profession.

In my Facebook I wrote that I could not agree more that among the good things we can learn from the Japanese society is precision. I made this comment in response to the observation by our Prime Minister during his recent visit to Japan as widely reported in the media.

Based on my personal experience having lived and worked in Japan for more than three years, I have indeed discovered this for myself. This was in the early eighties when Malaysia started the Look East policy in our effort to learn the Japanese work ethics and values to transform our industry. I remember when dealing with Japanese officials involving the visit of their delegation to Malaysia and the preparation on our side for Japanese media to cover the visit of their VIPs to Malaysia. I was the Information Counsellor, obviously the job of media relations fell on my shoulder. They refused to talk to me on telephone because they were quite skeptical about conveying the message in English over the phone for fear that the message might not be clearly understood by me. Instead, they insisted to come to the office and talked to me in person. They came with their plans written in detail. It was obvious they would not let things go. They came with an inquisitive mind asking me a lot of questions and expecting me to respond to questions, some of which were not even thought about or on something I considered rather petty. But to them it was a serious matter and they were not taking chances as they wanted to ensure precision in their job.

Precision indeed exists in almost every aspect of their life such as punctuality of appointments and events held, the train and bus schedules, organization of major events and programs, delivery of goods and services, etc. Looking back after more than 20 years since looking east, it makes me wonder how much are we learning from the Japanese. No doubt it is an on-going process which requires us to make it a continuous effort or a habit to achieve progress.

If we want to move towards a developed nation status we have no choice but to change our attitude. We need to adopt a culture of excellence and the culture excellence must begin with precision. Such precision would be reflected in the quality of products that we produce and the services that we offer. This culture particularly among the younger generation should be nurtured from early days, if not at the university before graduating and entering the job market!!!

Just a few words of welcome from me...

I look forward to exchange views and ideas on topics of common interest that would benefit us . I hope through blogging it would also give me the opportunity to develop friendship and networking, and perhaps also to renew acquaintance. Views reflected here would be from my own personal observation and interpretation on how I see and evaluate situations. Certainly I would try to put myself in the bigger picture and try to be very balanced and unbiased. I do hope my blog would attract constructive comments from readers to share information and views that would be of interest to many. I would be very delighted to respond and share my thoughts. This informal mean of meeting of minds, hopefully, would be used responsibly to tap ideas and probe our thoughts, and expand on our thinking creativity for common good!!!



Sincerely
Aznan