Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on February 20 - 26, 2017.

 

We have become accustomed to seeing Malaysian trust levels dip year after year. However, this trend is not peculiar to Malaysia. While the trust placed by Malaysians in four key institutions —government, media, business and non-governmental organisations — has all dropped slightly between 2016 and 2017, it is very much in line with global trends.

Without trust, belief in “the system” starts to fail. In addition to declining levels of trust around the world, there is a sense of injustice, a lack of hope, a lack of confidence and a desire for change, as indicated in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2017.

Globally, 53% of the people believe the system is failing them. In Malaysia, the figure is 52%, with only 12% saying the system is working for them. Malaysians are pointing specifically at corruption and immigration as their main concerns.

More than 80% are concerned that widespread corruption makes it difficult to make the changes necessary to solve our problems. The concern could, in part, be driven by the higher visibility of success by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which made several high-profile arrests in 2016. Sabah’s “Watergate” comes to mind, as authorities arrested two top officials from the Sabah Water Department. During the raid, it took the 30 officers some 15 hours to count RM48 million (US$10.75 million) in cash! Some 66% of Malaysians agree that paying bribes was the action most damaging to their trust in a better future.

Unlike Western countries, the issue of immigration in Malaysia may not be about the influx of people from other countries that can damage the economy and national culture. Largely, Malaysians are warm, inclusive and welcoming to foreigners. Their concerns on immigration are possibly skewed to socio-economic factors, such as security and health.

The rising levels of crime have been linked to the influx of these migrant workers who enter the country in large numbers to sustain industries, such as construction and agriculture, although there is no strong data from the police to substantiate this theory. Similarly, while Malaysia imposes mandatory health screening on all migrant workers, undocumented migrants give rise to health concerns over transmittable diseases. And the issue of corruption emerges again: how did these undocumented migrants get to Malaysia?

Interestingly, while more than half of Malaysians agree that the system is failing, the trust in the government by the informed public went up to 43%, a rise of nine points.

In 2016, there were no new flashpoints that could further hurt the government’s credibility, while businesses and consumers have accepted that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is here to stay. Political fatigue from the constant repetition of the 1MDB saga may have turned the issue to white noise — the people hear it, but are they really listening?

The “doom and gloom” forecasts of critics — that Malaysia’s economy would tank — were disproved by the government. In a climate of global economic slowdown, Malaysia’s economy continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace, with minimal job cuts. The multi-billion dollar trade deals with China have been well received. The recent move by the government to legalise popular ride-sharing platforms Uber and Grab — against sustained protests from the taxi industry — will no doubt have won it brownie points too, and may indicate that the government is really listening to the voice of the people.

Business remains the second most trusted of the four institutions in Malaysia, despite a two-point dip. It is most trusted by those who believe the system is working, and also among those who are uncertain. How can businesses win the trust of the people?

First, do not make things worse. Respondents listed down five items that businesses should not do in order to sustain public trust: do not pay bribes, do not lower product quality to reduce costs, do not overcharge for essential products, do not reduce employee benefits and do not overpay executives.

While these items may be obvious, we read stories every week about companies that were caught doing one or more of these things, which tarnishes overall trust in business.

The positive from the Edelman Trust Barometer 2017 is that businesses are still expected to do what is right. These higher expectations illustrate that the public places a high degree of hope to compensate or correct the failing system. The top five most important behaviours that will build trust in a company are: having an ethical business practice, providing high-quality products and services, having open transparent business practice, listening to your customers, and taking responsible action in a crisis.

While businesses are still expected to take the lead in trust building, the credibility of business leaders — be they CEOs, board of directors or successful entrepreneurs — took a big hit, with CEOs credibility falling by 16 percentage points. Also losing credibility are academic or industry experts, as well as financial or industry analysts. A “person like yourself” now takes the lead in credibility levels.

Fuelling anxiety and distrust in the system is the emergence of a media echo chamber that elevates search engines and algorithms over editors, reinforces personal beliefs and shuts out opposing points of view. The fear is that we will evolve to become narrow-minded and gravitate towards the extreme, as we only accept views that are in line with our own values.

The rise of populism, fuelled by distrust in institutions and lack of belief in the system, has resulted in concerns and fears being amplified again and again in the echo chamber. This amplification of societal and economic fears further erodes trusts. We have seen populism in action in the West, with Brexit and the election of President Donald Trump as prime examples. In Malaysia, while there has been a fair amount of moaning and whining, no tangible populist action has taken place.

While there is some merit to discussing how to get people out of the echo chamber, we can also take the approach of entering the chamber. CEOs can move to the masses (social media is a good start), and be viewed as more human. Be seen as a person — a father, a foodie, a weekend musician — and eventually you may be accepted as a person just like you or me. It is possible that if they can relate to you, they are more likely to trust you.

Gone are the days of the traditional “pyramid of influence”, in which both authority and influence were concentrated in the hands of a small number of opinion shapers. There is a dramatic shift of influence and trust from all leaders to the people. We saw the inversion of influence last year — the pyramid has flipped. Influence now rests with a broad section of the people who talk to each other on social media or use search engines to access information; they no longer need to rely on the more “informed” population for ideas. Influence is no longer automatically granted to those in authority.

The way forward is to bridge the divide that separates the elite from the masses, and perhaps the divide between the roles of government, media, business and non-governmental organisations. We need a new, integrated operating model for institutions — one that has people at the centre, but also one in which the traditional institutional silos are dissolved.

It is no longer enough for business to focus only on the economic benefits it delivers to stakeholders. Today, business must also engage in public policy discussions, have a clear vision for the broader societal benefits it creates, and take responsibility for providing a clear, engaging flow of information around those issues.

This is a mandate not only for business, but for all institutions. Only a new, people-centric integrated operating model will serve the needs of today’s peer-driven, fast-paced societies. It is no longer about doing something for the people. It is time to be with the people. All the people. You and I. We are one, and we are in it together.


Robert Kay is managing director, Edelman Malaysia

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