More than water: How Air Selangor is building a brand on trust, purpose and people

This post is sponsored by Air Selangor.

In a world overflowing with noise, clarity has become one of the most valuable and powerful forms of communication. At Air Selangor, clarity is more than a principle – it is a promise. We believe that clean water and clear information are equally vital.

Every day, we deliver both to 9.62 million consumers across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya, managing 34 water treatment plants and over 31,250 km of pipelines. Yet beyond our infrastructure lies something deeper – the trust we earn through every message, every update, and every story we share.

While Air Selangor is formally recognised as a water services provider, we see ourselves first and foremost as a partner in progress, working hand in hand with the communities we serve. Our communication is not driven by campaign calendars, but by the needs of Malaysians. Whether addressing a policy update or managing a crisis, our approach is grounded in transparency, empathy and accountability.

Leading change with clarity and care

This philosophy was put to the test in February 2024, when Air Selangor implemented the first water tariff adjustment in 18 years. Amid a backdrop of rising operational costs that kept tariffs low, the tariff adjustment was necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of water services.

To navigate public concerns, Air Selangor launched a transparent, people-first communication campaign, in collaboration with the water services regulator, National Water Services Commission, aimed at explaining the rationale and benefits of the tariff change while reinforcing trust in both the utility provider and the government.

The campaign was designed with a transparency-first approach, focusing on early engagement and message clarity.

A multifaceted strategy was deployed: digital content such as videos, infographics, and FAQs were shared across social media to educate the public in a digestible manner; official press releases, media statements and interviews provided credible, fact-based updates to national and local outlets; and stakeholder engagement, as well as early involvement of high-level government stakeholders, added credibility and authority.

Additionally, key opinion leaders were activated to explain the adjustment from a people-centric lens, while social seeders helped push these narratives to grassroots communities, amplifying reach and humanising the technical policy change.

The impact of the campaign was significant. Between 18 January and 21 February 2024, the initiative generated over 2,136 online mentions with a net sentiment score of +44.1%, reflecting a largely positive public reception despite the sensitivity of the topic.

In fact, nearly 75% of the media coverage remained neutral and helped mitigate the risk of politicisation and misinformation. Most importantly, the campaign successfully positioned the tariff adjustment as a long-term investment in water service quality, not just a price hike.

This achievement was recognised with a silver award for Best PR Campaign: Government/Public Services at the PR Awards 2025, affirming the campaign’s strategic impact and its role as a model for effective, people-first public communication.

Elina Baseri, head of corporate communication, Air Selangor (centre), and the team, with the PR Awards 2025 trophies, reflecting their achievements in strategic communications, community investment, and crisis communications.

Telling stories that matter: From outreach to impact

At the heart of Air Selangor’s brand is the belief that service goes beyond infrastructure. Our Sesama Mara initiative, launched in 2020, embodies this purpose by delivering consistent, targeted community impact across education, food security and volunteerism.

Translated as “together we move forward”, the initiative was built not around media exposure, but around meaningful impact. These efforts were recognised with a gold award for Best CSR Communications at the PR Awards 2025.

These honours reflected a year of tangible outcomes:

• Box of hope: In 2024, a total of 1,800 boxes consisting of essential food items were distributed to underprivileged families across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya, thanks in part to the contribution from the mass public who dropped these food items at selected supermarkets.
• Festive cheer: Aid and celebrations reached 3,746 individuals across 54 welfare homes between 2021 and 2024, with 19 welfare homes directly supported in 2024.
• Education empowerment: In collaboration with Pandai Education, 240 SPM candidates from B40 households were granted full access to the Pandai Premium learning app. To date, 375 students have benefited from the programme.
• Hydro heroes volunteer programme: Air Selangor staff contributed over 720 volunteer hours in 2024. A total of 259 employees have participated since the programme’s inception – reinforcing our culture of service beyond duty.

The communications surrounding Sesama Mara were intentionally designed not to spotlight the company, but to highlight the people and communities we serve. Through documentary-style storytelling, community testimonials and sustained digital engagement, Air Selangor humanised corporate social responsibility – proving that communication, when done sincerely, amplifies not just reach, but meaning.

These stories remain at the heart of our brand. They are not about public recognition, but about showing up with sincerity, consistency and care. Through each small act and shared experience, we build lasting connections that reflect who we are and how we serve. Trust, after all, is shaped not only in times of a crisis, but in the everyday moments when people know they can count on us.

Crisis communication with compassion

Few moments are as critical for a water services provider as when the water stops flowing. Whether caused by pollution, repairs, pipe bursts or leaks, these incidents are when the public looks to us – not just for answers, but for reassurance. That’s when our emergency response plan (ERP) communication strategy takes centre stage.

The ERP has been built on a clear objective: to deliver timely, accurate and empathetic updates to affected communities, using a strategic mix of digital platforms, traditional media, stakeholder engagement and internal alignment.

On one occasion when we had to implement our ERP, communications were carefully sequenced across seven phases – from the initial statement to confirmation of water supply recovery.

Updates were disseminated via push notifications on the Air Selangor app, pop-up banners on the dedicated disruption microsite (waterupdates.airselangor.com), SMS blasts, updates on our official social media accounts every three hours, as well as at least three press releases daily until the crisis was over.

This was complemented by strong media relations, including briefing sessions with national and state journalists, and engagements with stakeholders, NGOs, and community leaders.

This multi-pronged execution resulted in tangible shifts in public perception. Positive sentiment on social media rose from 8.6% in 2020 to 62.3% in 2024. Customer satisfaction climbed from 63.6% in 2020 to 80.3% in 2024. The Net Promoter Score (NPS), which had dipped to +4 in 2023, rebounded to +26 by the end of 2024.

In mainstream media, positive sentiment also grew – from just 3.1% in 2022 to 12.05% in 2024 – reflecting the effectiveness of our communication efforts in reshaping public narratives and restoring confidence.

As a result, Air Selangor was awarded silver at the PR Awards 2025 for the Best Use of Social Media for Crisis Communications category. The ERP was lauded as a benchmark for how empathetic and proactive crisis communications can minimise public anxiety, counter misinformation, and strengthen institutional credibility.

A future built on dialogue and integrity

Looking ahead to our vision – to be the leading water services provider in Asia by 2030 – we recognise that success will not be measured by infrastructure alone. It will be measured by the relationships we nurture, the communities we serve, and the conversations we continue to lead. Our progress relies not just on innovation, but on the human connections that uphold trust in both certainty and uncertainty.

At the core of our mission is a simple, but powerful goal: to deliver the best possible experience to our customers. But what drives us every day is our brand promise – “Joy in every drop”. Every initiative, campaign and communication must contribute meaningfully to this promise.

We know that trust is never given. It is earned – daily – through consistency, transparency, and genuine care. Because in today’s world, while water may be our product, trust is our most valuable currency.

Air Selangor remains steadfast in our commitment to deliver not only clean, treated, and safe water, but also human-centred, honest communication. Because trust doesn’t just flow – it must be cultivated, drop by drop, word by word.