Ops P.R to assist Ops Daulat
P.R functions to help crisis in Sabah
Lahad Datu invasion has become Malaysia's biggest concern to date. The invasion by more than 200 militants from Sinumul Island, Tawi-Tawi, Phillippines on 11th February 2013 struck fear among Malaysians due to the vulnerable nature of our nation. The militants, Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo were said to be sent by Jamalul Kiram III, one of the claimant to the throne of the Sultanate of Sulu. the purpose of the military invasion is still ambiguous but revolves around the unresolved territorial claim of the Phillippines to Eastern Sabah, formerly North Borneo.
The invasion currently escalated to a military stand off between the Royal Security Forces and the Malaysian Police Department that resulted in the death of 68 individuals, including Malaysian Police personnel, the militants and civilians.
The invasion started off on the 11th of February 2013 at Tanduo, Lahad Datu, Sabah where 235 militants carrying machine guns and machetes invaded the district by boats and claimed to arrive at the orders of Sultanate of Sulu to reclaim the land. the first wave of attack resulted in the death of two police officers, from Lahad Datu, the invasion escalated to a stand off between Malaysian Special Forces Unit, and the militants at Kunak and Semporna where another six Malaysian police officers lost their lives.
Currently, the situation is still unresolved with many militants still invading the district of Semporna and Lahad Datu. Most of the militants caught are being prosecuted under the new SOSMA, security offences (special measures) act and under the act, each militants are guilty of engaging war against the Malaysian King that carries a maximum death sentence.
Even though the invasion remains a military threat contained superbly by the Malaysian government within Sabah, the fear among Malaysian citizens are on the rise everyday. Malaysian citizens fear the realism of the event will ignite similar crisis in the future that would jeopardize the stability and peace of Malaysia. the fear remains a fear as the Malaysian government are more than capable in handling any situation that would pose a threat to our beloved nation. But fear among Malaysian citizens regarding this crisis are being fueled by irresponsible parties through propaganda that is aimed to cause further fear and unrest in Malaysia.
There are a few public relation steps that can be taken by the Malaysian government to subdue the current unrest among Malaysian citizens caused by the propaganda. The few steps are;
- Media Representation
- Crisis Communication
- Social Media Management
These three Public Relation functions are the corner stone of any P.R crisis management set-up. First is media representation. The Malaysian government should speak to the media regarding the crisis, ensuring the people of Malaysia of the '5 w and 1 h', the 'what, why, where, when and who' and 'how'. The dissemination of proper information would enable concerned citizens to breath a sigh of relief and feed secured. Dissemination of written text and video regarding the issue should be maximized.
Secondly, crisis communication should me maximized through the media to ensure unrest and instability are contained. The proper assignment given to a trained professional would enable a swift solution to any problem. Finally, social media management should to maximized as most propaganda and civil unrest are started from social sites such as Facebook twitter and many others. Handling these three P.R functions would enable the Lahad Datu crisis to cause zero civil unrest among Malaysian citizens. Come to think about it, our Malaysian government have already initiated these steps and more to neutralize the threat.
As a summary, Ops Daulat will succeed and we should trust our government to uphold its duty to ensure national security. 'Malaysia Boleh'.
