Does the Malaysian PR industry really need a law to protect the good PR practitioners from the bad and ugly ones?
July 16: IPRM used to be the go-to body in Malaysia for all things public relations. Not any more. Not in a long while. I'm not sure why or what happened but was told that in recent times, the 62-year institute has kind of lost touch with practitioners.
Hence, when IPRM chief Jaffri Amin Osman went to The Sun to preach about PR morales and standards, and talked about pushing the government for some kind of legislation to govern and discipline the practitioners, the rest of the PR industry didn't take too kindly to it.
One of these voices belongs to former MP and deputy education minister YB P. Kamalanathan, a prominent PR practitioner before he jumped into politics 14 years ago.
"While the idea may sound good we need everyone's buy-in. (IPRM) does not speak for all PR practitioners," Kamalanathan was quoted by Astro Awani in an article timed with the launch of PRactitioners, a new grouping of individuals and agencies, today.
The launch of Kamalanathan's PRactitioners was officiated by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil in conjunction with World PR Day and a day-long conference The Future of PR in a changing world.
Fahmi made no mention of the IPRM-initiated legislation in his speech, interestingly, but the NST, in the second interview IPRM's Jaffri has given this month, has reconfirmed that the proposed legislation goes by the name PR Practitioners Act (PRPA).
Prof Syed Bani CM Din, who heads the PR Communications Association Malaysia (PRCA), said anyone can propose a new law.
"But without a solid foundation and representation from all quarters, we risk causing more fragmentation within our industry."
PRactitioners and PRCA have issued a joint statement on their reservations about IPRM's proposed PRPA.
Kamalanathan's drove home a most pertinent point in that joint statement:
"The idea that the challenges faced by practioners and the PR industry as a whole can be resolved through the Act is too simple," the PRactitioner founder said.
I have dealt with the PR industry as long as I've been a journalist. I count many of them - too many to name here - as brothers and sisters in arms: journalism and PR berpisah tiada.
So it's not difficult for me to see where Kamalanathan and Syed Bani are coming from.
IPRM Jaffri cited several examples of bad practices by some PR agencies that are giving the industry a bad name. Press releases that are issued by PR firms, for example.
In one case, Jaffri told The Sun that a press release claimed that a PR firm's client "is the world's largest It infrastructure services provider". Upon checking, the client only had 2,4% global share in technology design and architecture.
In another case cited by IPRM, a press release claimed that a PR firm's client is "the world's leading human resource, payroll and employee engagement platform". When asked to substantiate the claim, the PR agency provided links to other media outlets that have published the statement.
"Some clients could be unfamiliar with PR best practices while some PR firms struggle to balance client expectations with ethical and effective communications," Jaffri said.
"The PR field also encompasses practices with less positive connotationd, such as spin doctoring and astroturfing. These terms, while used variable depending on context, can contribute to a negative perception of the profession as a whole," the IPRM president added.
But as Kamalanathan pointed out, does the PR industry need a law passed by the Parliament to deal with these "challenges"?
Is the answer that simple or is IPRM being too simplistic?
If you ask a journalist, the answer is certainly not in enacting another Act.
Newsrooms have long had to contend with unsubstantiated claims, including by PR firms and their clients. What editors do when in doubt is to double check. We do that all the time because that's our job. We may get sued if we are sloppy. We may hurt people's wellbeing and reputation if we are not careful.
We'd know if a PR firm or practitioner had a record of unsubstantiated claims or bad press releases. And we know what to do with their press releases: chuck them into the bin!
The onus is on us journalists and editors to check. If the media is too lazy to check whether a claim is factual or fictitious, the media must take the blame.
No legislation can help laziness and sloppiness.
The good thing is IPRM already has a PR industry guideline. The problem, though, is that Jaffri does not think the guidines is effective. He wants something "enforceable".
"This is why IPRM is working hard on the Act and wants it to be enacted, so that unverified claims and unethical practices can be legally stopped," the IPRM president said.
Malaysian journalists have been fighting for self-regulation for decades. We are this close now.
It is my belief that our partners in the PR industry would benefit from the same, too.
Disclaimer: The writer has dealt with leaders of IPRM, PRCA and PRactitioners, past and present, in the course of his being a journalist since 1984 and as a blogger since 2006. He is one of the volunteer mentors at PRactitioners.
