COMETIC 2024: Competent CEOs would ‘nip the crisis in the bud’

By, Husna Fathiyyah Mohd Fairuz

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 October 2024: Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Syed Arabi Idid remarked that a good CEO must be able to foresee a crisis and contain it before it blows into one by nipping it in the bud. Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Syed Arabi was one of the three panelists of the second panel discussion today conducted in conjunction with the Communication and Media Centre International Conference 2024 (COMETIC 2024) organised by IIUM’s Communication and Media Centre (COMET) at ISTAC, IIUM.

Advisor of IIUM’s Communication and Media Centre (COMET), fourth IIUM Rector and communication academic, Professor Dato’ Sri Dr Syed Arabi, illustrated the features of a crisis as: “unpredictable”, short-lived and “should not happen more than twice.” A crisis is inevitable and bound to happen in any organization, for him. He regards that although there are manuals and frameworks to mitigate it, it takes a good Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to solve crises and restore the image of the company. Crisis communication manuals will not be able to solve an organization’s crisis without competent leadership on board.

However, when the crisis erupts mentioned Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Syed, “…the CEO and the PRO (Public Relations Officer) must work together to contain the crisis. The CEO solves the crisis, the PRO manages the crisis communication.”

Another panelist, the founder of strategic communication company, White and Associates, Abdul Latiff Puteh, further highlighted the importance of having good leadership in a crisis.

“When a crisis just happened, you can see individuals that have leadership qualities (that are not the CEO) that will lead the initial discussion. These individuals will be the ones who speak a lot,” he said.

According to Abdul Latiff, the initial discussion is an important phase that will set the pace for managing the crisis.

Yet, crisis communication is no easy task, as both private and government-linked companies in Malaysia face challenges from bureaucratic red tape and political interferences, mentioned Abdul Latiff.

Another panelist, President of the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM), Jaffri Amin Osman, pointed out that in Malaysian crisis communication, it is common for the boss to speak up, even when they are not the most suitable spokesperson.

“I am not talking about crisis communication, this is even for a simple press release,” Abdul Latiff concurred.

“Depending on who is sitting up there, in a statement there will have three to four quotes; one from the minister, another one coming from the chairman and then only the CEO will be saying something,” Abdul Latiff quipped.

“This (practice) is 90 percent the format, which is totally, totally wrong,” he said.

Hence, Jaffri Amin emphasized the need for public relations (PR) practitioners to sharpen their skills in handling the complexities of crisis communication. He introduced the ‘SQUARE’ strategy — “Strategic, Quick, Unique, Agile, Resourceful, and Engaging” — a framework that highlights essential qualities PR professionals must develop to manage crises effectively, through his book.

Jaffri Amin Osman also advised the CEOs, “You must trust your PR team.”

The panel discussion titled, “Dilemmas in Crisis Communication: Balancing Transparency and Sensitivity” was moderated by Associate Professor Dr. Zeti Azreen binti Ahmad. COMETIC 2024 was conducted for two days from 16 October 2024 to 17 October 2024 at ISTAC, IIUM.***