Tuesday early morning I was walking in the Taman Aman park in Petaling Jaya and stopped for a discussion with a former general, secretary-general and other retired senior civil servants. They were talking about Malaysians spending too much and quoting Idris Jala. ‘If we don’t watch it we will be bankrupt nation,’ a retired general said.

A skeptical person in the crowd said: ‘Don't believe politicians’. I told him but they are our beloved leaders. He repeated: ‘Don't believe politicians’.Ten hours later I hear the news announcement: ‘Najib dispels fears of possible bankruptcy’. Yes, finally. Prime Minister Najib Razak has spoken on the state of bankruptcy.

When we meet again in the park, I am wondering what my retired general friend is going to say about the state of bankruptcy. Najib has quelled fears raised by Idris that Malaysia would one day go the way of Greece and Iceland and become a bankrupt nation.

Somewhere, there is a breakdown in communication or the wrong things are being spun for the public. Who are we to believe? One day, we wake up and are told of the financial woes of the nation. Two weeks later, prime minister gives the nation the assurance, ‘not to worry lah!’

In making a U-turn, Najib said: ‘Malaysia will not face problems like what is happening at present in Greece and Iceland. The financial position of the federal government will continue to be monitored and controlled responsibly. Our deficit is expected to be reduced and our debt level will continue to be controlled in the medium, long and short terms,’ Najib said in a written response to a question by Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) in Parliament.

The premier gave an assurance that the government was taking steps to ensure that Malaysia’s debts would be reduced and maintained at a manageable level. This is contrary to what Malaysians when Idris clearly said that Malaysia was heading for bankruptcy and all the newspapers and blogs echoed his call.

The mainstream media two weeks before the announcement were briefed by spin doctors not to go against Idris’s claims of bankruptcy. So every leading columnist and editor in the mainstream media backed and supported Idris call for the removal of subsidies.

Now, these editors and columnists are caught in a Catch 22 situation and are questioning themselves what do we say now after Najib himself has denied the fears of bankruptcy.

Malaysians who were guided by the mainstream media will now have to do the limbo rock - because they are in a limbo of not knowing who to believe – Najib, Idris or the mainstream media.

There are several lessons that must be learned from the way the news was spun by the spin doctors. Obviously, it was not conceived properly and it looks like Najib was not aware of what Idris was about to announce.

While the spin doctor Apco is being investigated, the basic lesson in media relations or in spinning stories is to ‘tell the truth’.

Obviously, such an announcement by Idris was carefully debated in the cabinet before he launched his laboratory studies to come with the nation's ‘state’ of bankruptcy. Can somebody wake up, stand up and tell us the truth on these flipflop decisions being announced?