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Poll: 52pct M'sians say gov't, media have failed them
Published:  Feb 16, 2017 10:23 AM
Updated: 4:34 AM

The trust level of Malaysians in key institutions, including the government, has declined, according to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer Malaysia findings.

Apart from the government, the other institutions cited are the media, business and non-government organisations (NGOs).

“Fifty-two percent of Malaysians believe the system is failing them, with only 12 percent saying the system is working for them.

"They are pointing specifically to corruption and immigration as their main concerns,” The Sun quoted Edelman Malaysia managing director Robert Kay as saying.

He said the majority of the respondents believe that the overall system is not working for them, citing a sense of injustice, lack of hope and confidence, and desire for change.

According to the survey, the government (37 percent) and media (42 percent) institutions remained at the distrusted level this year, in which both saw a decline of 2 and 3 points respectively.

Meanwhile, business and NGOs stood at neutral level at 58 percent and 56 percent this year, from 61 percent and 58 percent previously.

However, despite the overall decline in the trust levels across all four key institutions, the trust in government by the informed public went up 9 points to 43 percent, compared with the previous year.

The findings also reflect a similar global trend, said the report.

The survey was conducted online over a sample of 1,150 "general and informed" respondents aged 25 to 64, between October and November last year.

Last year, it was reported the Edelman Trust Barometer Annual Global Study 2016 found that public trust in the Malaysian government had fallen from 46 to 39 percent.

Finance sector least trusted

The survey found the top five most trusted industry sectors was technology (81 percent); education (79 percent); healthcare (76 percent); automotive and telecommunications (75 percent each).

The least trusted industry sectors in this category were financial services (69 percent) and consumer packaged goods (67 percent), with entertainment coming in at 59 percent.

In addition, CEOs were the least trusted members of their organisations.

“We found that the technology (sector) CEOs are well trusted, while the least trusted CEOs are people in the financial services industry,” Kay was reported saying.

Meanwhile, 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, citing similarilites to a survey they had conducted.

"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," The Edge reported him as saying during the panel discussions after the findings' presentation.

The business daily also reported Kay saying, "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."

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