Prasarana Malaysia Berhad Prasarana Malaysia Berhad is the largest public transport company that owns and operates Malaysia's public transportation systems and services. It is a government owned company that runs the country's urban rail services, such as the three LRT networks, KL Monorail and MRT line, as well as the bus services in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Pahang. As part of their mission, the company aims to increase the public transportation usage through the provision of reliable, affordable, proficient, integrated and dynamic services on a sustainable basis. In recent years, the company has been driving the transformation of Malaysia's public transport systems and services. New projects and initiatives have been rolled out to ensure greater connectivity in Klang valley. For instance, Prasarana entered into a partnership with Sunway Group to launch the BRT Sunway Line project in 2015. Likewise, there are extensions made to MRT lines to introduce new routes in phases such as the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line and MRT Putrajaya line in 2022-2023. With greater connectivity and networks, the company aims to encourage people to take public transport and reduce their reliance on private cars. Prasarana Crisis Communication Strategy While these improvements are commendable, the company has recently been met with an unprecedented incident. On 24th May 2021, two trains (i.e. train 81 and 40) collided on the LRT Kelana Jaya line causing passengers to flung over, leaving 47 people seriously injured and 166 people sustaining minor injuries. In fact, two passengers had to undergo brain surgery while one needed cerebral resuscitation treatment. Further investigations revealed that there was a miscommunication between the hostler and the operations control centre (OCC) which led to the collision. More specifically, the hostler of Train 40 was negligent and careless as he manually drove the train in the opposite direction following a communication disruption with OCC. This incident has tainted the 23-year-old clean record of Kelana Jaya line, tarnishing the company's image. While addressing the public through a press conference, the director of Prasarana, Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, was seen without a mask in the midst of pandemic. When asked by a reporter as to why he was not present at the incident immediately, Datuk Seri Tajuddin said that he was informed of the incident much later and was supposed to get his second dose of vaccination on the next day after the incident. He further urged reporters not to ask questions that provoked the public. Despite evidences illustrating a failure in standard operating procedures by the company, Datuk Seri Tajuddin denied such allegations. A day after the incident, Prasarana announced that they would be giving a monetary compensation of RM 1000 to the affected passengers, as well as paying for their medical bills and loss of income (if any). This national incident sparked outrage among Malaysians, demanding Prasarana to take greater accountability for their actions. Emotions were running high among the public and affected families. Angry netizens expressed their feelings on social media, criticizing Datuk Seri Tajuddin for the lack of empathy and sense of urgency demonstrated during the press conference. Others had criticized Datuk Seri Tajuddin for downplaying the significance of the issue considering that lives were at stake. For instance, Datuk Seri Tajuddin was reported joking and laughing during the televised news conference stating "Normal ... only the two cars are together. They kissed each other". In addition, some memes and videos (on Youtube) transpired from the event with comedians trolling Datuk Seri Tajuddin about his response. Likewise, gory images and videos which were shared by victims on the train were circulating on social media and went viral. Some of the victims expressed their personal traumatic experiences on twitter, describing it as a nightmare. The Ministry of Transport has called for an independent investigation and reassured the public that train services will resume after three days in order to clean the debris and fix the damaged track. Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that he has instructed the Transport Ministry and Prasarana Malaysia to conduct a "full investigation to identify the cause of the accident". He added that "stern action will be taken immediately". Following this event, another smaller incident involving the LRT service occurred on July 26 2022 when the doors of a train remained open while in operation. However, no injuries were reported. Three days later, on July 29, a Bangladeshi construction worker was killed after the scaffolding at the LRT3 construction site in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang collapsed. These events have received a widespread coverage from various international and local media. External threats such as these events can damage a company's image as the narratives of the incidents are beyond the control of the organisation. With a tainted image, Prasarana needs to restore public's confidence that their services are safe and reliable. Rebuilding a company's image following a crisis serves as a challenge for any organisations as one needs to manage different stakeholders in the market. As such, crisis communication is important for organisations to react to crises swiftly and accurately in a professional manner.

Questions:

Public Relation is all about managing expectations and perceptions of different stakeholders such as the international/local media, affected families, the government, internal staff and the general public. If you are given a second chance as a Communication Director of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad to handle the crises, how do you think you would have communicated differently? Critically suggest ONE way you could do so to EACH of the FIVE stakeholders mentioned and justify WHY and HOW you would do so. Provide examples and justifications from the case study as well as your own research on the internet to support your stance. (25 marks)