The press rebuttal by IOI Corporation Bhd’s CEO, Lee Yeow Chor (Malaysiakini, Sept 28, 2016) has wide-ranging implications including the branding of Malaysian business in the international circuit.

Foremost, Malaysian home-grown businesses that successfully penetrate foreign destinations or invest overseas must recognise that they are also flag-bearers of the country.

Hence it is important that they do not draw attention under the global radar of checkmates for all the bad reasons. Greenpeace action on IOI’s plantation business is one such example that should not have happened in the first place.

And when such spotlights are zeroed in on an organisation, it is equally critical that any rebuttal the aggrieved party makes in the media is governed by sound guidelines for rebuttals.

The first principle in making a rebuttal is not to deny the complaint or action suffered. One should acknowledge in its entirety the viewpoint of the complainant. But what negates IOI’s effort here is the CEO while acknowledging the report made by Greenpeace, tries to equal IOI’s status to the calling of the environmentalist organisation by adding that IOI “shares a similar top line analysis of...”

Second, instead of highlighting what everyone in the industry must do to play their part, (which is akin to preaching or even admonishing others) it would have placed IOI on firmer rebuttal if it had immediately made an admission of fault which only comes way down several paragraphs later.

Only after observing the above two steps would it benefit IOI to move onward to explain its side of the predicament.

Third, never use your rebuttal as the avenue to call for affirmative action by others. Instead of saying “We therefore today call for all our fellow industry players to come together and reach agreement on solutions...” it would go down well if IOI stated what are its line of remedial action or steps it would take to address problems highlighted in Greenpeace’s ‘15 specific points’.

Fourth, instead of telling Greenpeace what it needs to do, the CEO of IOI would be wiser to merely state that IOI is in contact with Greenpeace seeking assistance on several matters related to the case and that “IOI is confident of further support from the environmental watchdog”.

Fifth, when you want to assure your readers or affected stakeholders of your line of action do not merely state "several" but be more specific in order to win trust. If you are unable to state specifically or in whole, at the least indicate what parameters of action plans you are examining now.

Hopefully this brief lessons on press rebuttal will be useful the next time around for organisations that get into trouble with complaints or charges in the public foyer.

In the meantime, organisations that are scaling across territories and borders to take advantage of growth induced business opportunities must be mindful that their pursuits of success come with equal measures of safeguarding Malaysia’s image and reputation.