Lianhe Zaobao - 5.6.2004 (Pg 13) Handling of RSS Courageous Crisis A Success On 3rd Jan 2003 at 11.35 pm, RSS Courageous and the merchant vessel ANL Indonesia collided near Pedra Branca. Three female navy officers died and one was missing. MINDEF originally intended to inform their families within three hours but subsequently postponed breaking the news to the families to 5 am. MINDEF did not do so to conceal information. Rather it was after much deliberation that MINDEF decided that 5 am was the most appropriate time to break the news. Though it seems a trivial matter but in crisis management, it is a vital element. MINDEF yesterday shared its experience in crisis management at the Third PR Academy Annual Conference with public relations officers from government departments and private companies. In an interview, MINDEF’s director of public affairs Colonel Bernard Toh said, “The collision happened at 11.35 pm. By 2 am, we were prepared to inform the families of the female officers. But if we were to wake them up from their sleep and inform them of the news in the middle of the night, it would be much more difficult for them to accept the news. Hence, we decided to wait till morning before we send our support team to inform them.” The support team accompanied the family members of the female navy officers round-the-clock and updated them of the latest developments. The team comprised professional counselor to provide psychological support and comfort. Even though the incident occurred more than one-and-a-half year ago, the support team still regularly visits the families and provide them the necessary assistance. Colonel Toh said that besides comforting the families and launching search and rescue work, MINDEF also faces the challenge of providing timely clarification on adverse rumours. Some inaccurate information was being circulated that affected the people’s confidence in MINDEF. The public did not understand why the navy ship with advanced radar system failed to detect the merchant ship in front. But investigations revealed that the accident was due to human negligence, and not because the radar system did not work. Colonel Toh felt that whenever a crisis occurred, some organizations would concentrate on providing solace to the victim’s family but forgot to comfort their staff. MINDEF had adopted a three-pronged approach – while conducting search and rescue work and comforting the distraught families, it did not neglect the navy staff whose confidence had taken a beating. He said: “At that time, the Chief of Navy realized that morale was low in the Navy and wrote a personal letter to each and every staff to let them understand how the incident occurred and the actions taken. Many of the navy staff were touched as it showed that the Chief of Navy care for them”. “Internal communication in an organization is very important. If there is a lack of communication, the navy staff will believe the rumours. After we give them the correct information, they could even help us to explain to the public, dispelling any rumours.” The principles of transparency and dealing with matters openly help to re-establish the credibility of the Navy. |