Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer Malaysia findings revealed that 52% of Malaysians have lost faith in the institutions and system as a sense of injustice, lack of hope, lack of confidence and a desire for change brew within the community.

The findings are consistent with a survey entitled How to Fix Malaysia? conducted by The Edge in December last year, in which respondents said corruption and poor governance were the two most urgent problems that Malaysia needed to fix.

The Edelman Trust Barometer said 2017 also saw Malaysia slipping into distrust for the first time, as the trust index for Malaysia dropped to 48 points in 2017 from 51 points in 2016. The three-point decrease in the trust index is a reflection of the global trend as well. According to the survey, trust declines in 21 out of 28 countries, the broadest decrease since beginning general population tracking in 2012.

The levels of trust placed by Malaysians in all four institutions — government, media, business and non-government organisations (NGO) — have all dropped slightly in 2017 as compared to 2016, in line with global trends.

One of the highlights from the survey was the increase of 9 points to 43% for the level of trust by the informed public in government despite declining trust levels across all four key institutions among the general public.

The studies were conducted with the general public and informed public, with the informed public being from upper middle income group at the age of 25 to 64, and who read or watch business or news media at least several times a week, as well as follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week.

Business leaders also suffered declining trust levels, as the trust level for chief executive officer (CEO) fell from 56% in 2016 to 40% in 2017. The trust level for board of directors and successful entrepreneurs also fell from 51% to 36% and 62% to 54% respectively during the same period.

During the panel discussions after the findings' presentation, The Edge Media Group publisher and group CEO Ho Kay Tat said there was a general mistrust of institutions and authorities, whether it is political or business.

"In general, people feel that they have been let down because of the experiences they go through each day. In the survey conducted by The Edge last year, corruption was the most important issue as compared to a higher cost of living," he said.

Another panelist, Khairul Azwan Harun, a member of the Dewan Negara, shared with the audience that the improvement of trust level shown by the informed public towards the government shows that the government is moving in the right direction.

Anne Munro-Kua, an author of Authoritarian Populism in Malaysia, who is the third panelist, agreed with the survey and the concerns on corruption issues, highlighting that while improvement has been seen with the latest actions against corruption shown by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the fact that it is under the Prime Minister's department diminished its independence and credibility.

Finally, Teach for Malaysia co-founder and managing director Dzameer Dzulkifli shared it is important that despite the disappointing findings shown by the survey, Malaysians need to continue to work to improve the level of trust by focusing on the positive.

Edelman Malaysia managing director Robert Kay said Malaysia is not an isolated case as for the first time, there is a global trust crisis.

"The way forward is to bridge the divide that separate the elite and the masses, and perhaps the divide between the roles of government, media, business and NGO. It's no longer about doing something for the people. It is time to be with the people. All the people. You and me. We are one, and we're in it together," he said.

 

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