The importance of public relations is everywhere, more so during a situation of conflict or a crisis where managing it properly is of utmost importance to safeguard the image of an organization.

This is where in the issue of electoral process, the Election Commission (EC) should be proactive (or seen to be proactive) to engage the voters and political parties in communication, to convince its stakeholders of its action and explain its position with clarity. We know that the EC has taken the necessary steps to explain the position raised by parties concerned. But there is still negative feedback that shows dissatisfaction or even manipulation by political parties to give the wrong impression.

I suppose an aggressive public relations exercise would give the EC the opportunity to clear any doubt. It would look good for the body as voters would view the move as transparent in line with democratic practices. At least this is what is expected from the election body.

The recent announcement to go biometric and improve the electoral process should be made known as extensively as possible so that the voters would be able to understand the move towards fair elections. Already there have been attempts by some parties to discredit the system and to create doubts among voters. All this require rationales to be explained. Voters too must be able to see the reasons behind the move.

The idea for EC to carry out a public relations engagement with the media and the voters to tell its stories should be welcome by all.

I welcome the move by the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture for its information and public relations (PR) machinery to be given a new boost. The government PR machinery cannot operate on the basis of approaches or strategies that were carried out in the past which might already be obsolete. Instead, they need to embrace the new technology, use more of the new media, and the officers too must embark on more aggressive strategies.

There are far bigger challenges for the government PR to deal with the current issues which are being manipulated by so many elements which are opposed to what the government is trying to do. Apart from that, the government PR machinery now has to deal with various types of audiences who are more vocal and have higher expectations and demands. The public demands greater transparency in what the government does.

I wonder how much the public try to understand the government policies or interpret the benefits that they get from the government either directly or indirectly. Most often they are quick to criticize or make complaints. Seldom do they praise if they find benefits. Because they think that the mainstream media is controlled by the government, they must have less credibility. So they turn to the new media and think they can trust the information carried in the alternate media. Little do they realize that there are so many untruths, lies and disinformation being spread by such media.

On the same tone, the government PR should not shy away from the new media, instead they must also make full use of such media especially in addressing the younger or new generation of audiences. But the content must be interesting, factual and reasonable or appealing to the audiences. The public too must be exposed to media literacy so that they would be able to differentiate the truth from pure propaganda and manipulation by some parties. The information that is conveyed must be credible, trustworthy, and believable.

The recent announcement to strengthen the PR machinery would also mean a call for greater commitment and sincerity on the part of the Ministry officials in wanting to see changes and in dealing with such issues efficiently.