Getting the right support

I CAN only imagine the massive pressure our newly sworn-in ministers must be facing right now.

If you think about it, most of them have been in full-on, all-out battle mode from the moment parliament was dissolved – a full two months of working probably seven days a week with no real break at all, constantly reacting wildly to crisis after crisis.

If that were me, I’d be completely worn out – maybe even experiencing mild hallucinations by now.

We have a number of first time MPs becoming high ranking ministers, alongside more experienced MPs who have never been part of the government – all facing immense expectations for being part of Anwar Ibrahim’s historical first cabinet.

It must all be an exhausting roller coaster ride.

I don’t believe it’s healthy to support politicians no matter what just because they’re from the party we like, and I would never ask anyone to ‘lower expectations’ they may have of their leaders.

That said, my own personal message to many of these ministers would be – take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember: you can do this.

You’ve been put into a position where some people are going to always praise you to the heavens, while others will unceasingly curse you to hell.

Don’t let either of them get to your head.

Never surround yourself with sycophants, or read only favourable comments. At the same time, do not obsess about your critics, or let them trigger you.

In order to do as well as we all know you can, you’re going to have to keep a cool, calm centre – even as everything around you right now is still frantically zipping around in every direction at breakneck speed.

Once you’ve taken that step back, and inhaled that deep breath, the first thing you probably want to really focus on is: building yourself the right team.

There is no way the sheer mass of a responsibilities in a ministry can be shouldered by any one person.

There will be a million things screaming for your attention, but each and every thing will be unbearably overwhelming without the right support team behind you. Take the time to put emotionally intelligent people you trust in the right places, and every single thing will be easier thereafter.

I’m not qualified enough to give an exhaustive list, but I would hazard that (at the very least) the following are absolutely key in any minister’s staff: Someone who is a true expert in matters under the ministry’s purview, someone who truly understands the civil service (in that ministry, if possible), and someone who truly understands communications.

For the first, it is important to get someone who is well connected and well regarded among other experts in the field. Their job will be less to push any particular policy agenda, but more to work with other experts and be responsible for providing the minister with a balanced view on any one particular issue that is informed by input from other relevant experts.

The second should be able to help the minister navigate the civil service, pick the right battles, and work with civil servants in a way that is steadfastly consistent with principles, but also does not aggravate the civil service unnecessarily.

I remember reading an article sometime back about a US congressman who commented that unlike in the past, where politicians would hire many staffers to help with policy, legislation and the like, the majority of political staffers were now people in communications.

The simple reason is this: political careers live or die based on public perception.

In a more just world, politicians would be judged based on what they do. The reality is, politicians are judged based on what people think they do.

I’m certain that by now, most politicians are aware that these two things are not one and the same.

So, biased as I may be as someone who works in this industry, I would say having a good communications or press officer who is constantly thinking about what is going through the minds of the rakyat where the minister and his or her work is concerned will take a great deal of stress off the minister’s plate, and allow them to concentrate on the bigger picture without having to worry excessively about the perception war.

Ministers who are instead constantly worrying about every single thing that is being said about them – by the public, civil servants, the Prime Minister, and so on – will likely be paralysed by overwhelming stress, or reactively just start shooting from the hip.

Once the right team is in place however, this mountain of seemingly impossible tasks will start to be broken down into bite sized pieces.

In other words, empowering professionals will lead to an empowered minister.

The importance of a good communications team naturally extends to the office of the Prime Minister himself.

The first Pakatan government was arguably brought down by a failure to build a strong, genuinely new narrative around what ‘New Malaysia’ was supposed to be. Into that vacuum rushed the controversy about the Rome Statutes and ICERD – plunging Malaysia backwards into the toxic old narrative of racial divisions, culminating in the Sheraton Move.

A professionally run, reasonably funded communications team that reports directly to the top can ensure that the current Pakatan government does not meet the same fate.

Former PM Mahathir Mohammad immediately closed down JKOM, the communications department under the PM’s Office, and it’s true that the department was a bloated institution involved in work that could be considered as harmful to the country.

Shutting it down completely may however have been excessive. There is potential for such a department to play a much more positive, professional role in building the right narrative for Malaysia.

There is no shortage of pro-Pakatan cyber warriors who have been working for little or no pay to advance the cause. Given proper direction, coordination, and resources, this team can likely work wonders.

With a professional communications team in place, the government will no longer be on the defensive, constantly marching to the beat of their enemies drums, but will instead be the ones setting the tone in a strong and dynamic way, forcing their opponents to respond and fight outside their comfort zones.

In other words, public discourse will be dominated less by talk about DAP dominance and Anwar’s shoes, and more by talk about RM 60 million for poor farmers, and 20% pay cuts for ministers.

More importantly, with a good communications plan, this new government will finally be poised to heal the many wounds caused by racial divisiveness, and imbue Malaysia with a true sense of unity and shared purpose.

Nathaniel Tan is a freelance strategic communications consultant who also works with Projek #BangsaMalaysia. Twitter: @NatAsasi, Email: [e-mail]. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.