APCO sees M'sian media as gov't-controlled, like China, S'pore

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Prime Minister Najib Razak may be paying international communications firm APCO a bomb to spruce up his image and lobby for support in Washington, but as far as the firm is concerned Malaysia is just another archaic, backward hole where Government knows best and press freedom is a figment of the imagination.

In its website http://www.apcoworldwide.com/content/services/media_relations.aspx , it lumps the Southeast Asian country in the same sorry category as notorious neighbors Singapore and China.

“There are many different media environments across Asia ranging from those still controlled by the government such as in China, Malaysia and Singapore to those which enjoy Western-style press freedoms.”

This despite the fact that Malaysia is one of its best paying clients! APCO provides the Najib administration with strategic communications advice, and was accused of being the brains behind the PM's key political platform - 1Malaysia.

Refusing to sever ties despite protests from Muslims

Despite its unpopularity here, APCO is at the same time better known in Malaysia than in most parts of the United States where it is based.

Najib, Obama - the coveted handshake

In fact, for many weeks in the early part of this year, APCO dominated debates at the Malaysian Parliament. A memorandum of protest against the firm was even submitted to the King. There were also threats to lodge complaints with the Organization of Islamic Conference.

And the reasons for this brouhaha? Lawmakers from Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's coalition had come across information that APCO’s top management had links to the Israeli secret service.

As Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation, such a connection would make dealings with APCO taboo. Needless to say, Anwar and his team condemned Najib for refusing to cancel the government's contract with APCO.

“We would stress that we are not anti-Jewish in any way. But because of the Palestine issue, Malaysia’s stand is that we do not recognize Israel or have any diplomatic ties with it. That was the reason for the outcry against APCO – not because of any perceived Jewishness but because of its ties to Israel and particularly its links to very sensitive Israeli institutions such as Shin Bet,” MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Slap in the face for Najib, tarnishing Anwar in the U.S.

But despite the uproar especially from the Malaysian Muslims, Najib refused to break off with APCO. In many ways the decision has benefited him as the firm wields considerable influence in Washington.

So far, Najib has won a coveted invitation to meet with President Barack Obama, and received a small measure of verbal support for his policies that have elsewhere been slammed as being hypocritical and shallow. However, these 'perks' come at the expense of the pride of the Muslim community in Malaysia.

One of the many protests against APCO in M'sia

There also appears to be a limit to the amount of goodwill APCO can secure for Najib despite its exorbitant charges.

During a recent visit to Kuala Lumpur, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted that Washington was in regular contact with Anwar and was closely watching his sodomy trial. Anwar has accused Najib of fabricating the charges to jail him ahead of snap general elections widely expected in 2011.

Clinton's comments were a big blow to the Najib government, which frowns on official recognition for the political opposition in the country.

Meanwhile, APCO appears to have assembled a small fringe group to hit out at Anwar in America. This group has accused him of being linked to terrorist groups such as the International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT), which according to them was trying to turn the U.S. into a Muslim nation!

“There is belief that APCO is behind this tarring of Anwar Ibrahim. What is not clear is whether this is revenge because we had demanded that its contract be terminated, or is APCO just following Najib's orders to make things difficult for Anwar in the U.S?,” said Tian.

“Whichever, APCO has shown itself to be a mercenary, an ingrate even. Despite being paid such huge sums that ultimately come from Malaysian taxpayers' pockets, it clearly considers the local media environment as being controlled by the government, and even though this is true, it is a huge slap in the face for Najib.”