PR Crises in Indonesia Throughout 2021

For those of you who already know what a PR crisis is, you surely understand that it can really drive PR professionals crazy. The consequences of a PR crisis vary widely, ranging from the emergence of negative sentiment all the way to a destructive level where top company executives step down from their positions! Isn’t that scary? Well, to help you understand better, here are five examples of PR crises that have occurred in Indonesia, compiled by Media Buffet PR:

PR Crises of 2021

The Campuspedia Case

The first PR crisis came when netizens were shocked by the revelation from someone who had once interned at Campuspedia. How could they not be shocked? According to the former intern’s account, interns were paid only 100,000 per month and faced a 500,000 fine if they resigned—oh my! Shortly after that statement was posted on Twitter, other similar accounts began to surface. The gist was the same: that Campuspedia enforced policies that “strangled” its interns. Acting quickly, Campuspedia CEO Akbar Maulana issued a press release containing an apology and stating that an evaluation of this controversial policy would be conducted.

The Case of GoSend’s Parody of Kompas

What started as an ad campaign ended up causing problems. This is what GoSend experienced after many people were disappointed by the visuals in an ad promoting GoSend’s services. The visuals, which were meant to be creative, were apparently too creative—to the point of parodying the Kompas newspaper under the name “Somplak.” To make matters worse, the phrase “Amanat Hati Nurani Rakyat” (The People’s Conscience) was changed to “Amanat Ati Ampela Rakyat” (The People’s Liver). In the end, GoSend did apologize for the promotional content. Kompas, which had initially taken offense, also accepted Gojek’s apology. Thank goodness~

The Shopee Oppresses Couriers Case

Twitter users were abuzz with the hashtag #ShopeeTindasKurir, which first appeared on April 11, 2021. This hashtag was created in response to a thread detailing a strike by Shopee Express couriers protesting declining wages. As a result of the viral hashtag and thread, many netizens voiced their disappointment on social media and urged people to uninstall the Shopee app and switch to other e-commerce platforms.

The KAI Commuter Twitter Comment Incident

KAI Commuter once faced criticism from netizens over a comment on Twitter. This comment, deemed unethical, was posted on June 9, 2021, in response to a report of sexual harassment that occurred on a train involving a fellow passenger. After receiving a lot of negative feedback, KAI finally issued an apology to both the public and the victim by meeting with them in person. KAI Commuter also assisted and accompanied the victim through the process of filing a police report.

The Papua PON Icon Case

The appointment of Nagita Slavina as the PON icon by the Organizing Committee of the 2021 Papua National Sports Week (PON) XX caused quite a stir. This was because some people mistakenly interpreted this rising star as the ambassador for PON XX Papua. People were naturally upset because they wanted a local son to serve as the ambassador for the event. In reality, however, the person actually appointed as the PON XX Papua ambassador was Papuan soccer player Boaz Solossa. Oh well, turns out there was a misunderstanding after all.

We should take this PR crisis as a lesson so that similar cases don’t happen again in the future~

Written by Debora Septenia, Public Relations Intern at Media Buffet PR