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.