Towards the Professionalisation of Public Relations in Malaysia

The aim of this dissertation is to explore how the status and standards of public relations as a profession are perceived by the three main groups involved in public relations: academics, practitioners, and business leaders. Low recognition of the profession, a shortage of qualified practitioners, a lack of regulation, and a lack of credibility among practitioners are major issues in the Malaysian public relations industry. In order to administer this study, several research methods were employed: a quantitative postal questionnaire, qualitative in-depth interviews and a review of policy documents. In each case, the focus was on following four dimensions of public relations professionalism: the exclusive jurisdiction of public relations; PR education: the establishment of its exclusive training schools; the importance of a code of ethics; and accreditation and licensing. Public relations can be a ‘true’ profession if all parties involved are united and committed to developing standardised, universal forms of public relations practice.