Customs boosts officers' skills to handle digital crises

KUCHING – More than 30 Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) officers of various ranks from headquarters and branches nationwide were introduced to digital forensic tools and social media sentiment monitoring to strengthen their ability to manage narratives and handle crises on digital platforms.

Royal Malaysian Customs Academy director Suwati Suratman said participants of the Strategic and Digital Media Management Course at the Malaysian Customs Academy (AKMAL) Sarawak branch were also trained to use monitoring tools such as InVID WeVerify, Google Reverse Image Search, X Advanced Search, Google Trends and Boardreader.

She said they were guided in producing rapid rebuttals, media statements, social media copy and infographics, as well as in conducting press conferences effectively.

"This exposure is believed to be able to improve the skills of JKDM personnel in managing issues and crisis situations arising on social media more effectively.

"Through this course, participants were also exposed to the realities of newsroom operations and the role enforcement agencies must play in channelling information quickly to the public," she said in a statement today.

She said the course, held from Aug 3 to 6, aimed to strengthen personnel capability so they could be more proactive in addressing an issue before it grew into a bigger crisis.

"The four-day workshop was conducted by resource experts from the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), who acted as speakers and instructors," she said. (Quotes translated from Bahasa Melayu.)