From Ghazalie Abdullah
The recent outburst by housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming is a textbook case for why ministers – not just their press secretaries – need proper public relations training.
When a simple question about the use of an English name for the “I Lite U” campaign spiralled into the scolding of a journalist, the issue was no longer about language policy, but about temperament, perception, and the lost art of communication.
Public relations is not a coat that a minister wears only during a crisis. It is a discipline of emotional intelligence, media literacy and strategic storytelling. Unfortunately, many ministers still treat PR as someone else’s job – delegated to overworked aides or communication units that manage news releases rather than personalities.
The outcome? When provoked, they shoot from the lip, not from the brain.
Had Nga been trained in media handling, he would have recognised the Utusan Malaysia reporter’s question for what it was – an opportunity, not an attack. The question, though clumsy, reflected a public sentiment about Bahasa Malaysia’s standing.
The right answer could have built trust. Imagine if he had said: “We’re using English to welcome the world, but Bahasa Malaysia remains the soul of our nation to have tourists remember.” That single line would have transformed tension into applause and headlines into harmony.
But this is not merely about one minister’s lapse. It’s about a larger gap in leadership training. We send ministers to economic briefings and policy retreats. but rarely to PR workshops. Yet, every news conference, every social media post, every off-the-cuff remark is a test of PR credibility. In the age of viral news, one bad soundbyte can erase a year of good governance.
Public relations for public officials should therefore go beyond crafting statements. It must include understanding journalists’ roles, anticipating tough questions and mastering tone. Tone is everything – it signals respect, empathy and confidence.
Ministers must learn that authority is not asserted by reprimand, but earned by restraint.
It is also time for political aides to rise above damage control. Too often, their job is reduced to cleaning up after verbal missteps. The better task is prevention – coaching their principals on how to speak, when to pause and how to pivot from confrontation to clarity. A few hours of media simulation could save weeks of political embarrassment.
In truth, Malaysians are not asking their leaders to be saints. We simply expect them to be steady communicators. Reporters will sometimes fumble their questions, but the public watches how leaders handle those moments. Grace under pressure is not weakness; it is wisdom.
If ministries invested in real PR training – not cosmetic workshops, but strategic communication coaching – we would have fewer viral apologies and more viral ideas. Ministers must remember: leadership today is not just about policy; it’s about perception.
In the end, the calmest person in the room always wins. And that, more than any slogan, is what truly lights up Malaysia.
Ghazalie Abdullah is a past Malaysian president of the International Association of Business Communicators.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.