2007/05/08 (from http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Columns/20070508084252/Article/index_html)
Four fingers point back at every Pointman
Rehman Rashid
"POINTMAN" for the government during crises — now there’s a job I’d like.
(They probably wouldn’t take me, though. They wouldn’t entirely trust me.
No one does, perhaps because, like Groucho Marx, I wouldn’t join any club that would have me as a member.)
The government’s Pointman would be expected to deliver accurate, timely and relevant information in a way that illuminates, educates and informs the public on the government’s actions and intentions. This would also mean choosing the right words and phraseology with which to impart such information succinctly, clearly and confidently. (Disqualifying me right there.)
Singapore, once again, is exemplary in this regard. Their government has always had exceedingly sharp Pointmen minutely scanning the media for any dubious or inaccurate information on their nation-state, whereupon they would respond, often within the working day, with incisive corrections and comprehensive rebuttals in language of surgical precision.
This is not necessarily a matter of public relations per se. Good PR can be tremendously useful, of course, because the best PR makes good use of accurate, timely and relevant information. (The worst PR, on the other hand, thinks its role is to hide, cover up or obfuscate. No one gets away with that anymore. It simply doesn’t work. From having to deal with angry people, bad PR ends up having to deal with ignorant angry people; the worst kind.)
For better or worse, however, PR cannot help but be the first two letters of "propaganda". The government’s Pointman will therefore have to be more than a smooth-talking, well-groomed, suavely smiling silver-tongued shyster.
Glib charmers can be usefully telegenic, but that’s not enough to compensate for lacking credibility. A respectable record of integrity would help, but in this job, competence is judged not on past performance but presence of mind amid clear and present danger in the here and now.
If this seems to describe a Special Forces commando in a well-cut suit, that may not be far off the mark. Lee Atwater of the Reagan administration and George Stephanopoulos of Bill Clinton’s were past masters of the Pointman’s trade.
Karl Rove leaves something to be desired, but Barack Obama could be among the greatest if he hadn’t decided to run for president himself. (Maybe a mistake, that: Genuinely clever men tend not to do too well in the Oval Office. True, neither do genuinely dumb ones, but they don’t mind.)
Here at home, we have the notable likes of PLUS’ Khalilah Talha, the Shangri La Hotel’s Rosemarie Wee, the EPF’s Nik Affendi Jaafar and the Health Ministry’s Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican. Millicent Danker’s gone to Zambia, but the redoubtable Datuk Dr Paddy Bowie’s still on song.
The government’s Pointman (or woman) will be an individual (or a team of individuals, like MCA’s Datuk Michael Chong and the Chongettes) whose task will be to forestall the fearful rumours, wicked gossip and paralysing innuendoes, misinformation and disinformation that inundates the speculative landscape every time something alarming happens in this country.
In announcing the search for such a Pointman last week, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the need was to "prevent confusion among the people".
"It’s not our intention to cover things up," Najib assured his audience at an international conference on information management in Kuala Lumpur. "We’ll disclose information in full to prevent rumours from spreading."
The DPM was referring specifically to health scares such as bird flu, SARS, hand-foot-and-mouth disease and other such outbreaks and epidemics, but it would be wonderful if the Pointman’s office could also be tapped as a one-stop shop for similarly forthright transparency on everything else the government has to face.
For instance, it might be useful to have someone explain to the public that the information minister’s criticism of foreign media for reporting on ousted local politicians was actually to get them to acknowledge these people’s present standing in this country.
Or perhaps the science, technology and innovation minister’s alleged remarks on Indian complexions to a group of Malaysians in California could be attributed to a momentary lapse of reason due to overwork and jet lag, when he was only informally contrasting Dravidian and Indo-Aryan culturo-genetics.
There could be instant and reassuring explanations of aircraft, yachts or mansions here and abroad, or on whether or not Datuk Siti Nurhaliza’s in the family way. There could be quick and ready reference to corporate structures and shareholdings, and the developmental economics of fishermen owning racehorses. Above all, there could be the assurance that someone knows the answers, and that’s the Pointman.
Of course, this doesn’t mean he’ll tell you everything. As a government servant, he, too, will be bound by General Orders to observe the constitutional privileges of his elected masters. But he will be in a position to advise them on how to make sure the people get the right stuff in the right way at the right time (as immediately as possible, that is, or prudent) so that they will know the government’s true intentions and not be troubled by doubtful outcomes.
That’s why I for one would love the job. It may not mean I’d tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but at least, at last, I’d know.
Otherwise, what’s the point of being a Pointman? There’d only be four fingers pointing back.
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