KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — The Pakatan Harapan administration is not even a year-old, but has already faced multiple challenging issues that it had to manage and communicate.
An independent survey by communications agency Citrine One Sdn Bhd studied how Malaysians viewed the performance of the new government when it comes to communications on 11 hot issues in 2018.
In its online survey of 321 Malaysians nationwide who did not necessarily answer all the questions, some of the issues with high feedback for improvements or uncertainty were on the repayment of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), e-hailing policy, and on the controversy related to the Seafield Hindu temple in Subang Jaya.
When asked if they felt the PTPTN repayment schedules were workable and whether the related announcements were consistent, 58.6 per cent felt it should have been planned better, while 28.2 per cent said it works and the remaining 13.2 per cent believed it would not work.
As for whether the government’s e-hailing policy which affects providers such as Grab will be workable in the long-term, 56.8 per cent said they felt it was still unclear, while 30.3 per cent said yes and the remaining said no.
On whether the issue involving the Seafield temple where rioting had occurred following land disputes, 53.8 per cent felt there was a need for improvement, while 16.1 per cent felt the action plan and communications was timely and effective, 30.1 per cent disagreed.
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From education to cheaper internet to Lynas
The 11 topics covered a wide range of issues and different ministries, including whether the respondents felt that the revamp of the education system was going in the right direction, with examples of new policies listed such as introducing compulsory swimming classes, the use of black school shoes, removing exams for the lower primary students, schooling opportunities for stateless children and dispensing with administrative work for teachers.
Similar to the above, 41.1 per cent said they were still unclear about the direction of the education system’s revamp, while 35.1 per cent felt it was headed in the right direction and 23.8 per cent disagreed that it was going the right way.
In terms of child marriages, 47 per cent felt the government’s management of this issue needs improvement, while 20.7 per cent felt it was handled well with a strong hand that comes with legal enforcement, while 32.3 per cent felt it was not managed with a strong hand.
Similarly, 41.3 per cent felt the government had not been vocal about sexual harassment at the workplace, while 33.4 per cent said they were unclear and 25.2 per cent said the government was vocal on this matter.
When asked about the government’s handling of the anti-racial discrimination international convention ICERD, 47.8 per cent felt the government’s decision against adopting it was made in reaction to public pressure, while 41.2 per cent said they were unclear about the issue and 11 per cent said the issue was handled well.
For the reduction of broadband prices, 49.1 per cent felt the plans for cheaper internet access still need a lot of work, while 35.3 per cent felt it was well-planned and 15.6 per cent believed it would not work at all.
An outlier to the 11 issues may be the Lynas rare earth refinery in Kuantan, Pahang, with the majority or 61 per cent being “neutral” on how the government was handling it, while 12.3 per cent were satisfied with the government’s actions and 26.7 per cent being unsatisfied.
Also standing out is the respondents’ view of the government’s management of the national debt issue, with the majority being positive with 42.5 per cent thinking the government is doing a fair job, 31.1 per cent saying it was “good” and 4.7 per cent saying it was “excellent”, while only a minority of 21. 7 per cent felt the government’s performance here was “poor”.
As for whether the respective ministries came up with effective plans in managing the drop in prices for commodities such as oil palm and rubber, 45.3 per cent said they were unclear, while 26.6 per cent felt that ministers came up with effective plans and 28.2 per cent disagreed.
The full report on the survey that was conducted between January 22 and February 21 can be downloaded for free at http://www.citrineone.com/v3/survey.html, with Citrine One saying that no one had commissioned the survey and that it was by its own initiative and paid for by its own funds.
The respondents were mostly youths with the 18-30 year old age group forming 53.6 per cent, with the bulk of the 321 respondents from Selangor (31.2 per cent), Johor (19 per cent) and Kuala Lumpur (17.1 per cent) and Negri Sembilan at 14 per cent.
Of the respondents, the majority were Malays (43.69 per cent), followed by Indians (34.6 per cent), Chinese (17.8 per cent) and those from other ethnic groups at four per cent. Over half or 56.4 per cent of the 321 respondents were female, with 43.6 per cent male.
Room for improvement
Citrine One’s managing partner Sharveswary Balakrishnan said the vibe that they felt as communications practitioners when it came to the new government’s communication was a feeling of being “unclear” and “unsure”, and that the survey was conducted to find out what the public felt.
Ivlynn Yap, who is also Citrine One’s managing partner, said some of the ministers’ announcements appeared to be “piecemeal” in nature.
“In summary, when it comes to issue management, we felt that the government is not giving things a really good thought process.
“In crisis management, you need to assess a situation and prepare for that, get the right spokesperson to talk about it,” the firm’s crisis communications lead counsel said.
Yap however noted that some of the ministers were well-prepared and effective in their communication of their ministries’ policies, such as minister Yeo Bee Yin who is seen as having done her “homework” before making comments and minister Gobind Singh Deo who is seen as responsive.
When asked if Citrine One would revisit the same topic of the ministers’ communication strategies, Yap did not rule out the possibility.
“If these issues have not been resolved, then we may revisit, but if certain of these issues have been resolved, obviously we will not revisit,” she said, having noted that the firm was not commenting on whether the government’s plans were correct but were merely highlighting the need to improve their communications.
For now, Citrine One plans to continue on with the surveys every three months, with the next two editions expected to be on the communication strategies of companies and political parties.
Other findings
While the survey in general saw many respondents describing the new ministers’ communication strategy as lacking in consistency or clarity, some ministers were identified by respondents as being those who communicated their policies well.
The survey also indicated that the issue of corruption appeared to not be the first priority for the respondents as compared to other issues such as living costs.
Malay Mail has also reported on Citrine One’s tips for ministers to improve their communication skills and strategies.
