Quixotic Gallantry of PMO's Public Relations

A Kadir Jasin

LATEST, May 13 – Cash-strapped 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) today announced that it has sold land at Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) in Jalan Tun Razak for RM665 million to the Mulia Group of Indonesia to build a “signature tower ".

The 1MDB statement claimed that the land was earlier rejected by Tabung Haji despite being priced at only RM578 million. Instead, TH bought a 0.64-hactare site for RM188.5 million.

Eka Tjandranegara: 17th Richest Indonesian According to Forbes

Mulia Group proprietor, Eka Tjandranegara , in a statement  issue by 1MDB said: “As one of the biggest commercial property developers in Indonesia, we are excited to be embarking on this project to develop the Signature Tower to become the new landmark of Kuala Lumpur city. Our Mulia Group wishes to be an integral part of this iconic state-of-the-art development not only for Malaysia but for the region and beyond." 

More sales are expected as 1MDB rush to raise cash to service and pay off its massive RM40-billion plus debts.

ORIGINAL POST

ALL of us who are cybersurfers can raise our hands to the heaven and thank the Almighty that we now have this tool called the Internet.

[REMINDER: No anonymous comments will be published.  Please use Google Account, OpenID or Name/URL. Pseudonym is accepted. Please be respectful .. No swearing. Thank you]

Through it we are able to know that the mainstream media (MSM) editors do not want us to know and say what the MSM editors would not publish even if we write to them.

If they did not entertain (Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s replies to their erroneous reports, why should they bother about us the nobodies and the has-beens?

Despite his brave posturing, The Prime Minister, (Datuk Seri) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak was so intimidated by the cyber community that he “advised” Tabung Haji to sell the TRX land it bought from 1MDB although he said it was a good buy.

If it was a good buy and would bring good returns to Tabung Haji depositors, why didn’t he go on TV3 to convince the Muslims that it was good for them and that their money is safe? He can then issue a “wahyu” to all government-licensed media to reproduce his TV3 statement.

TV3 PM's favourite platform

Or has the PM lost confidence in his ability and the ability of the MSM to convince the people?

Do not also misread his repeated “sumpah” that he would not resign for as long as Umno and the people support him. All past leaders who were shown the door by their people had said the same thing. Saying otherwise would mean a quick end to their career.

For Mohd Najib, his current mandate as PM started on May 6, 2013 when he won the general election. The next occasion to gauge the support for his leadership is at Umno election next year. Attempts will most certainly be made not to have the election or to stop him from being challenged. The ultimate test will then be at the GE in 2017 or early 2018.

Behind The Emergence of Rizal Mansor

In the meantime, defending the PM appears to be getting harder. That could be the underlying reason why lately defending him, his administration and his family is left in the hands of an unfamiliar face like Encik Rizal Mansor.

And I am told even his most respected and professional media promoter has resorted to writing articles on 1MDB under pseudonym while others have resorted to personal attacks on his critics.

Their targets have widened to include the Deputy Prime Minister, (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, and other Umno leaders who are seen as no longer supporting the PM.

As for the lone wolf Rizal, some debaters think I had been unnecessarily harsh on him while others say I had given him too much credit in the May 6 posting entitled “Pejabat PM Kata Saya Tak Tahu Adat”.

Since that article was written in the Malay language, I trust that those who understand the language and its rich nuances would have realised that I was being instructive rather than vengeful.

From the outset I said I was grateful to Allah that some one from the PMO heard us and was willing to debate with us.

In fact, I think we generally have a very constructive debate. Now we know better how wealthy people use different methods to fund grand wedding receptions of their children. Mohd Najib was partly funded by his the family of his son-in-law.

Could Rizal be the lone wolf of the PMO?

 The question now is, why, out of the blue, Encik Rizal became the Prime Minister’s gallant Don Quixote? Why not or where are the Prime Minister’s many press secretaries, media advisers and communications consultants? Where are the National Communication Team (NCT) and the Mat Salleh-led media think tank?

Why didn’t they come to the Prime Minister’s defence? I am sure they are better trained and better known to the public than Encik Rizal. Naturally they are in a better position to argue with us and convince the public. Also that’s what they are paid for.

Doing a caricature of me and calling me names will not help Mohd Najib. I am not the Prime Minister and not gunning for his job. In any case, like Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra famously said, “bukan saya mintak duit pak depa!”

Or, as the case of their recent response to the foreign media have shown, they are not any better? Telling the New York Times that Mohd Najib was wealthy because of his family legacy is not exactly a clever or truthful thing to say.

Except for one or two, I know all the Prime Minister’s media handlers personally. Some were my co-workers at the NSTP Group and Bernama. They were then bright and capable men and women.

Or have they come to admit that the task of defending the Prime Minister and promoting him as a “transformer” has become so monumentally impossible that even their collective brilliance and intellectual prowess are of no help so they keep quiet?

Out of respect for them and for the memories of the good old days, I shall not name names. I know that they know what the rakyat out there are saying. I wonder if they now dare to introduce themselves as officers of the PM.

Post-JJ Communications Strategy

Or, is the emergence of Encik Rizal as a spokesman an indication that an entirely new communication strategy is being implemented at the PMO?

This is entirely possible following the demise of the Prime Minister’s chief-of-staff, (Tan Sri) Jamaluddin Jarjis in a helicopter crash on April 4 last.

Several fellow bloggers asked me if Encik Habibul Rahman Kadir Shah is back as the PM’s propaganda chief following Jamaluddin’s death?

Executives of Umno-linked media organisations told me that they reported business matters to Jamaluddin. They haven’t yet been told to whom they would now report.

Habibul is a close ally of the Prime Minister and holds director’s position in several private sector companies like Lotus UK Limited, the subsidiary of Proton Berhad.

Or could Encik Rizal have taken upon himself to answer me and, by extension, all of us because he was appalled by the silence or/and the ineptitude the Prime Minister’s media people?

Media guru, the late Marshall McLuhan, said the medium is the message. To him, the medium itself is the message. In another word, if the medium is credible, the message he or she carries will be credible too.

Failing PR on 1MDB Bailout

                   

Whatever the truth is, the fact remains that the Prime Minister is yet to answer seriously and truthfully many pressing questions posed to him.

And what he had so far said about 1MDB has not ended allegations of improprieties. Instead many people linked to 1MDB and its subsidiaries are known to have met top Umno leaders to confess their fears that situation is worse than what is being assumed.

For instance, if an initial public offering (IPO) is not done soon, 1MDB will run out of money and a full-blown bailout will become necessary.

It is for this reason that information about Tabung Haji’s purchase of 1MDB TRX land was leaked to the public and instantly become a rallying point for Mohd Najib's critics and other concerned parties.

So an entirely new media strategy that further shields the Prime Minister from his critics may be in the offing and it could be a vicious one – kill the messengers if you can’t kill the message!


LATEST - Tabung Haji said it invested RM920.8 million in 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) Bandar Malaysia sukuk issuance in February last year because “it is a secured investment” on which it expects to earn RM626.5 million in profit.

In a statement yesterday, its chief  investment officer Abd Kadir Sahlan said the sukuk is secured against parcels of land in Bandar Malaysia, with a security cover of at least 1.67 times.

Wallahuaklam.