INTRODUCTION

Public relations is a management function that establishes and maintains two-way,

mutual relationships and communications between an organization and its publics and
stakeholders that often determine their success or failure. PR management includes on-going
research, analysis, planning and evaluation to understand, develop and nurture strategic
relationships. Areas of PR specialization include Investor Relations, Lobbying, Public Affairs
(Government & Community), Publicity & Media/Blogger Relations, Employee Relations,
International Relations and Crisis Management. Often, PR and Publicity are used
synonymously, which leads to a misunderstanding of the field of PR.
According to Harlow (1976), Public relations is the distinctive management function
which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding,
acceptance and cooperation between an organization and its publics which involves the
management of problems or issues and helps management to keep informed on and
responsive to public opinion. Moreover, public relation defines and emphasizes the
responsibility of management to serve the public interest which helps management keep
abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help
anticipate trends and uses research and sound and ethical communication as its principal
tools.
According to Chartered Institute of Public Relation, Public Relations is the discipline
which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and
influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and
maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.
Besides that, public relations also counselling management at all levels in the
organizations with regard to policy decision, courses of action and communication, taking
into account their public implications and the organizations social or citizenship
responsibilities.

ISSUE

According to the (thestar.com, 2014), The Star reported last month that dengue cases
were increasing to the extent that even many private hospitals could not cope with the
demand for beds. Government hospitals coped by temporarily placing patients in the
emergency department until beds became available. There have been 19 deaths from dengue
this year, compared to six in the same period last year its a rapid increases of over 200%.
Selangor alone has seen 5,410 cases this year. In Shah Alam, is the highest rate of dengue
fever cases. Health Ministry sent a firm warning to Selangor government to step up efforts to
tackle the dengue outbreak as 107 out of 115 dengue locality hot spots in the country.

ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MANAGING THE ISSUE

There have been countless public relation crisis since the dengue attack that make
public worried about it, PR is the one who make the decision how to deliver the message
properly to the public by fixing this matter. A public relations officer represents an
organization or company as the face that the media sees. Most public relations officers have
bachelor's degrees in fields such as journalism, public relations or communications. A public
relations officer must be content working during tedious days but always ready for a media
firestorm following an unexpected crisis.
According to Health Ministery Malaysia, said if the state government was not careful,
it might be overrun by a dengue epidemic. This was because out of the 10,712 cases with 19
deaths recorded nationwide since the beginning of the year, 5,636 cases were in Selangor,
with six deaths. The role of PR in handling the issue is to tell the public about the dangerous
of dengue as the dengue fever is an urban disease, especially in flats and apartments. It is
common for a whole floor to be infected as it is easy for the Aedes mosquitoes to fly from
one unit to the other, spreading the virus quickly.
According to (sinarharian.com,2014) said that Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam has
launch a campaign Serentak Dan Sepadu-Gerak Advokasi Denggi Shah Alam 2014' which
the program will run for 3 month. In the program, MBSA make fogging activities at 243,913
premises and has issued 149 compounds as the larvae grow and action imposed under the
Local Government Act 1976.
This program will help people be aware of the dangerous of the dengue fever that
attack Shah Alam as the percentage of dengue cases increases rapidly.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This dengue cases that attacks Kuala Lumpur and all area of Klang Valley, gives an
big impact toward people that dengue can lead to death. People need to know how the dengue
attack people in life.
People also always need to clean their water reservoir to avoid dengue multiply. As
mosquito multiply in the water reservoir. By doing program about dengue will helps people
to atleast know how and what is the preventives measures.
People also need to alert about the dengue and need to practice to overcome this
issues that worried the publics. In public relation, they need to explain to the public of what
that happen now and gives a lot of information to the publics, so that publics will aware about
this case and always careful in doing their daily routine.

REFFERENCE
nst.com.my (2014, March 15), 107 dengue hotspot in Selangor. Retrived from
http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/107-dengue-hot-spots-in-selangor-1.479310
sinarharian.com.my (2014, March 17), Seksyen 7 Shah Alam, Lokasi Paling Panas. Retrieved
from

http://www.sinarharian.com.my/edisi/selangor-kl/seksyen-7-shah-alam-lokasi-denggi-

paling-panas-1.264685
AGCAS editors (2014, March 15), Public Relation Officers Job Description. Retrieved from
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/public_relations_officer_job_description.htm
Heidicohen.com (2014, March 15), What is Public Relations meaning? Retrieved from
http://heidicohen.com/public-relations-definition/