By Aznan Mat Piah
What is ‘public diplomacy’? You may have heard of ‘public diplomacy’ and might be wondering what it means.
A diplomatic mission operating in a host country has a duty and responsibility to ensure that the publics in that country have an accurate update not only on foreign policy developments but also on domestic economic and social policies that have bearings on its country’s image and reputation abroad. It is a major task for a diplomatic mission, and the Information Section handles this function. This is briefly ‘public diplomacy’.
In some academic books, public diplomacy is referred to as foreign ‘propaganda’ conducted or orchestrated by diplomats. In simple terms, the task of public diplomacy involves engaging the media and the non-media channels to put the country’s policies in the correct perspective and to dispel any wrong impression about the country’s policies.
In many countries, public diplomacy has become a major instrument of foreign policy. An important element of public diplomacy is media diplomacy where journalists are frequently engaged in diplomatic events and processes. Sometimes they even initiate diplomatic processes. The media functions both as an independent actor and as a tool in the hands of policy makers and journalists. Political scientists regard media diplomacy as dominating ingredients in contemporary international relations due to changes in mass communication, politics, and international relations.
Apart from media diplomacy, other components of public diplomacy are cultural diplomacy, public information, internal broadcasting, education and cultural programmes, and political action. They provide the means of influencing foreign publics without the use of force.
The now defunct US Information Agency defined public diplomacy as “promoting the national interest and national security of the United States through understanding, informing, and influencing foreign publics, and broadening dialogue between American citizens and institutions and their counterparts abroad”.
It is not surprising, therefore, for developed countries like USA, Britain, France, Germany, and Japan to be found using other avenues such as cultural and education centres, business forums, national press clubs and foreign correspondents clubs, and other forms of networking mechanisms to conduct beneficial activities to spread their influence internationally through public diplomacy.
Traditionally, it is often the role of the diplomatic mission in the receiving state to defend the interest of the sending state and to protect the interest of its nationals, within the limits permitted by the international laws. The duties of diplomatic mission also include negotiating with the government of the receiving state as directed by the sending state; ascertaining by lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving state, and reporting thereon to the government of the sending state; promoting friendly relations between the sending state and the receiving state, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relationship.
The significance of diplomacy role for any nation state, no doubt, depends to a large extent on communication between government-to-government, which involves the capability of diplomats in their advisory and implementation capacity. Yet, the importance of public diplomacy directed at foreign audiences, counting on people-to-people contact, and influencing public opinion on key policies and issues, could not be ruled out.
Involvement in Public Diplomacy
Public diplomacy is very close to my heart because it had been my career for more than 20 years when I served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Wisma Putra from 1976 until 1999. The time spent during those days both at the Ministry in Kuala Lumpur and at four Malaysian diplomatic missions abroad – Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris and London – had been very interesting and indeed challenging.
I regard the field as one of the most crucial tools in the practice of diplomacy. A public diplomacy that is proactive, well coordinated, innovative and informative is essential in advancing the interest of the nation abroad.
From my experience, public diplomacy plays an important role, at least for Malaysia in the promotion of foreign policies, as it helps to communicate the nation’s interests abroad. Officially, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its information dissemination activities and public information channels to provide accurate information about the country’s position on domestic and foreign policy issues affecting the country’s image abroad.
It is not incorrect to say that public diplomacy has to do with public relations practices at the international level in creating harmony and avoidance of conflicts. In the words of John Paluszek of Global Alliance, “harmony is the objective of macro public relations”.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia (Wisma Putra) there exists a department, presently called the Department of Information and Public Diplomacy, which looks after media relations, publicity and promotion, visits of foreign journalists, organising media events, monitoring of public opinion and managing reputation or image building.
Abroad, public diplomacy role at diplomatic missions is carried out by the information attaché or a diplomatic officer assigned to carry out such responsibility. His or her main task is to communicate the nation’s policies and interests abroad through public diplomacy channels like the media and the non-media entities including the non-governmental bodies.
It is important for the international audiences to have a positive and balance picture of the country in terms of the national policies and practices to be seen in accordance with the accepted international code of behaviour.
The country must be projected as politically stable and enjoying economic development and promoting social justice and harmony. Public diplomacy role is therefore to ensure a sustained image and to manage the country’s reputation with the view to maintain a positive and favourable impression of Malaysia among the international community, which would be useful to facilitate trade and draw foreign direct investments.
The Department of Information and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Affairs was earlier known as the External Information Division, which came into being in 1970. The division was staffed and managed by officers trained in information and public relations field, most of who were seconded from the Ministry of Information. Some of them came from journalism or public relations background and had considerable working experiences in the mass media or public relations agencies. Others were recruited directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with qualification in mass communication or public relations when the Ministry had wanted to have its set of officers, trained in the field to serve the Ministry on a continuous basis, whose experiences in the field would be beneficial in long term.
Early Years
Among the issues that required immediate attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the early years of its inception were the promotion of Malaysia as an independent and a sovereign nation in the eyes of the world community, particularly after the May 13, 1969 black incident. Following this incident was the urgency to defend the affirmative action policy, the New Economic Policy, the two-pronged blue print with the objectives to eradicate poverty and restructure society. The policy had been perceived as discriminatory towards the non-Bumiputras.
Being a newly independent nation, Malaysia needed to position itself among the international players. The conduct of public relations overseas was then considered important to explain and defend Malaysia’s policies. This was carried out with a good reason because Malaysia had received negative coverage in the international media, especially the western media, whose slanted and bias reporting of the issues had put the country in bad light in the eyes of the international community.
The western media had influenced the international audiences’ perception of Malaysia as a democratic country with a multiracial and multicultural population. There was, therefore, the urgent need to make the policies understood and to place the country’s image in the right perspective.
Next is the issue of how Malaysia handled its immediate neighbours. The experience of Malaysia-Indonesia confrontation from 1963 to 1965 affecting bilateral relations between the two countries was a lesson that went to show the importance of building good relations with our neighbours instead of looking at distant countries like the United Kingdom (in the case of Malaysia) or Netherlands (in the case of Indonesia), who were former colonial masters, to come to our assistance in times of needs.
The realisation on the importance of countries in Southeast Asia taking care of the interest of neighbouring states had led to the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in August 1967, which was indeed very significant. Hence, during the early years, ASEAN needed to be emphasised as the cornerstone of Malaysia’s foreign policy.
Foreign Policy Issues
Under the premiership of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, nation’s foreign policy adopted a much greater economic orientation in the country’s external relations while championing the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries. This approach led to the advocacy of the South-South cooperation, a more proactive role in the G-77, the establishment of the G-15 and the ‘Look East Policy’ being instituted. This shift to the East had greatly influenced Malaysia’s economic development. Malaysia became the voice of the developing world and was a role model for many developing countries, as it became well known for its active stance at the United Nations and other international conferences.
Malaysia also emphasised the importance of its role in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and actively engaged in the Non-Aligned Countries (NAM), the Commonwealth, Group of Seventy Seven (G77), and Developing Eight (D8). No less important has been the country’s continued active participation in the United Nations and other international organisations.
Under the present leadership of Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia has continued to project a forward-looking and pragmatic foreign policy whilst continuing to facilitate trade, attract foreign investments as well as project Malaysia as a stable and peaceful country. Malaysia has also initiated the Global Movement of Moderates among like-minded countries.
Najib’s reform package, including the New Economic Model and the Government and Economic Transformation Programmes, aimed at taking the nation into high-income bracket, are efforts that require attention, especially from potential investors and economists.
In the decade leading up to 2020, Malaysia has to deal with great changes in the global environment whilst improving and upgrading the country’s domestic conditions. Recognising this challenge, Malaysia’s foreign policy would continue to focus on protecting national interests while contributing responsibly towards the building of a fair and a just world.
This development certainly calls for a more enhanced role for public diplomacy to establish a credible image for Malaysia in the eyes of the international community.
Tribute
Looking back, I had the opportunity to work under the guidance of distinguished and prominent diplomats like Tan Sri Ahmad Kamil Jaafar, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, the late Datuk Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Dato’ Kamaruddin Abu, the late Dato’ Ismail Ambia and Dato’ Shahuddin Mohamed Taib.
They were my mentors and they had been instrumental in guiding me to focus and sustain my interest in the field of diplomacy in general, and public diplomacy, in particular.
One cannot rule out the importance of public diplomacy role for Malaysia in getting the right message across to the international audiences in building mutually beneficial relationship and in contributing towards national interests.
Photo taken from Blogspot