PUTRAJAYA has a penchant for engaging highly-paid strategic communications firms to bolster its image and run down the opposition, say pundits and observers.

They drew attention to the controversial hiring of FBC Media (UK) and Apco by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government.

Penang Institute executive director Ooi Kee Beng said the use of such “expensive” firms were done to strengthen the government’s grip on power.

“The incumbent has innumerable measures at his disposal to tilt the playing field in his favour, and constantly uses expensive international consultants to tilt the table even further.

“Utilising weaknesses in Malaysian democratic culture to influence electoral results does not and cannot sit well with most Malaysians,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

These comments were made in response to reports that Cambridge Analytica (CA) had been used by the ruling government to influence the results of the 13th general election in Kedah.

Ooi predicted that Putrajaya might face some serious repercussions when this issue surfaced.

“Malaysians are already outraged by the many scandals. Some backlash is to be expected,” he said.

Putrajaya had hired foreign strategic media firms to bolster its image, with only a small circle in the government knowing about it.

It ran into controversy when it paid FBC Media RM28.35 million – nearly £6m – for work on a “Global Strategic Communications Campaign” in 2009.

A similar sum, RM29.34 million, was designated to the company the previous year.

It had also engaged international public relations firm Apco Worldwide to handle political and crisis management issues and was believed to have paid RM77 million for its services.

Former Apco Malaysia head Paul Stadlen was rumoured to be managing Najib’s media operations since 2013.

According to whistleblower site Sarawak Report, Stadlen’s firm was hired by the Prime Minister’s Office for at least RM3 million a year.

Stadlen’s services were also used by the controversial 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which paid the firm RM1.5 million a year.    

Najib, however, did not comment when asked about Stadlen, but said he had a Malaysian PR based here.

Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Jay Jay Denis said the use of such firms was a threat to Malaysia’s democracy.

“Najib’s administration has always treated foreign influences as the bogeyman. But during elections, Umno can’t play a fair game, using a company boasting an arsenal of lies, spies, and fake news to steal elections.

“It’s an extraordinary attack on our democratic process,” he said.

Jay Jay also compared Najib to United States President Donald Trump who previously engaged firms like CA for his campaign.

“Donald Trump did that, now Najib is being tied to the same thing. How different is Najib from Trump?” he asked.

On its website, CA said it had helped BN in Kedah with a targeted messaging campaign that highlighted its school improvements since 2008 and helped the ruling coalition win Kedah back from Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general election.

The PMO, however, said neither CA nor its parent company SCL Group had ever “now or in the past – been contacted, employed or paid in anyway by BN, PMO or any part of the government of Malaysia”.

Instead, the PMO said that the SCL Group country representative had confirmed to the government that it was former Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir who had taken advice from the firm on the 2013 general election.

Mukhriz had led the BN Kedah election machinery in 2013 and became the state’s menteri besar after the ruling party took back the state from the opposition. He was sacked from BN’s linchpin party, Umno, in 2016 and joined Bersatu, which was founded the same year.

Mukhriz yesterday denied any knowledge of CA’s work for BN Kedah, saying he had never used their services and that it might have been the BN headquarters that employed the firm instead.

Social media giant Facebook banned the UK-based CA and parent company SCL group for misusing user data this week, despite knowing the breach since 2015.

SCL’s Southeast Asia head is Azrin Zizal, who was Mukhriz’s media officer from 2009 to 2013 while the latter was deputy minister of international trade and industry.

The Malaysian Insight has contacted Azrin and is awaiting a response. – March 21, 2018.