MALAYSIA’s response to the disappearance of MH370 is one of the worst examples of crisis management ever seen, a public relations expert says.

As Malaysian authorities finally confirmed the missing Boeing 777-200ER had crashed into the remote southern Indian Ocean with no survivors, Anthony McClellan of AMC Media said the crisis response had been marked by mixed messages, slow information and “ham-fisted” and damaging treatment of victim’s families.

“My overall view is that it’s one of the worst cases of crisis management communications I’ve ever seen,” Mr McClellan, a public relations consultant who has represented clients including James Ashby, a political staffer who sued former speaker Peter Slipper for sexual harassment, said.

“Basically, they’ve broken all the rules of how to do it.”

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News_Image_File: Calling for more answers ... grieving relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 protest with placards outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.

He contrasted this with the approach taken by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which has been leading a multinational search for the aircraft in waters 2500km southwest of Perth.

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“When they communicate, they are giving very clear, concise messages,” he said.

“If they don’t know something, they say so. Honesty in this situation is crucial.”

“In Malaysia, it’s very different.”

News_Image_File: More clear and consistent ... John Young of The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

“They have not been speaking with one voice, which is imperative. They’ve been yelling like an uncoordinated choir and that absolutely can lead to confusion,” he said.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, about one hour into its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

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Malaysia Airlines, the Malaysian Government and the country’s search and rescue agencies have borne the brunt of criticism from frustrated families, foreign governments and the media for providing inaccurate and often contradictory information and keeping them in the dark.

News_Image_File: Mixed and confusing messages ... Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with Malaysian Minister of Defence and Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. Picture: Mohd Rasfan

“They have made a catastrophic situation even worse,” he said.

Investors have also run away from the government-backed airline, with Malaysia Airlines’ share price falling 10 per cent since MH370 went missing — plunging to just 22.5 Malaysian sen (8 Australian cents).

The airline’s share price has been on a downward run for a decade and is about a tenth of its value in March 2004.

In 2013, Malaysia Airlines recorded a 1.17 billion ringgit ($336 million) loss.

Mr McClellan said the poor response had been exacerbated by a “historically authoritarian” political culture, adding it would do “inestimable damage” to the reputation of both Malaysia as a country and to Malaysia Airlines.

News_Image_File: Upsetting relatives ... Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, who said that if he resigns, it will be a personal decision taken later. He stood with Nor Yusof, chairman of Malaysia Airlines yesterday. Picture: Vincent Thian

On Monday, many of the friends and relatives of the 239 passengers and crew on-board were given confirmation MH370 had crashed into the Indian Ocean by late-night text message.

While the airline said it had done this only when it had been unable to reach them by phone, Griffith University crisis management expert Dr Hamish McLean said it was a mistake.

“Is text message a sensitive way to provide information, probably not,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines confirms it sent a text to #MH370 passengers' family before briefing them. http://t.co/JuJgqSR51W pic.twitter.com/MhJBfJTA8h — CNN (@CNN) March 24, 2014

“It’s certainly a quick way to provide information, but you have to ask if it’s sensitive.”

He said Malaysia had been “taken by surprise” by the crisis, but it was questionable whether anyone could have successfully managed the “extraordinary events” of the past 18 days.

“Initially it was managed well but then the information became conflicted,” he said.

Analysts have compared Malaysia’s response to the disappearance of Flight MH370 with the response to Air France Flight 447, which plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009.

The carrier and French officials were widely praised for keeping relatives regularly informed and avoiding speculation.

Deakin University communications expert Ross Monaghan said the prevalence of social media had made it even more important that “credible information” was provided by the Malaysians.

However, he said they had been placed in a very difficult situation.

“It’s been very difficult, it’s been unprecedented,” he said.

News_Image_File: Angry ... Chinese relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 marching to protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing. Picture: Mark Ralston

Originally published as Malaysia’s MH370 crisis bungle