Do Malaysians Trust Public Institutions? Media Conference 5 July 2018

Research background CENBET is a NGO that focuses on promoting moderation, transparency and good governance in Malaysia. Of late, commentaries and sentiments from social media and public attitude towards key institutions in Malaysia suggest that public trust towards these institutions has eroded. As such, CENBET has commissioned a study to understand Malaysians’ perception of trust toward key government institutions (“Institutions”) – judiciary, mainstream media, online alternative media, police, armed forces, municipal council / local government, politicians and federal government - in the country.

Research objectives To understand public perception on: Key national issues Importance of independence of Institutions for good governance of the country Public satisfaction on Institutions’ performance Level of trustworthiness of Institutions and reasons behind poor perception of trustworthiness Politician attributes deemed important by the public Politicians’ trustworthiness The need for government reform

Research design & methodology COVERAGE TARGET GROUP SAMPLE SIZE Responses were collected via online random, proportionate sampling Respondents were selected following a set quota based on Malaysian population distribution Fieldwork was conducted from 8 – 22 February 2018 Entire Malaysia, Male and female 21- 65 years old Eligible voters Demographic quota was weighted to Malaysia’s population breakdown n=1000 interviews Aggregated results are considered accurate within ±3.2%, 19 times out of 20 Margin of error will be larger within each sub group of the sample

Who did we talk to? Description Achievement Achievement (%) Male 491 49% Female 509 51% Malay 633 63% Chinese 188 19% Indian / others 179 18% North 217 22% Central 261 26% South 222 East Coast 161 16% East Malaysia 140 14% Total 1,000 100%

Federal government, politicians, local government and judiciary were among the top institutions with a glaring trust gap amongst the respondents Importance of independence Institution trustworthiness Gap Federal government Politician Local mainstream media Municipal council Malaysian courts Royal Malaysia Police Local online alternative media Malaysian Armed Forces -48% -45% -44% -41% -39% -38% -36% -20%

Important attributes of a trusted politician Honesty and dedication are the most important attributes of a trusted politician Important attributes of a trusted politician

Judges’ integrity is the cornerstone of trust for courts REASONS TO TRUST Malaysian Court Judges have high level of integrity Judges are competent Judicial system is efficient Notable comments: REASONS NOT TO TRUST “The court’s decision is influenced by the government” “There are signs that there is political interference in the judicial system” “Kes yang bertimbun” “Some judges are into corruption” Judges have low level of integrity Judicial system is inefficient Judges are not competent

Is the Malaysian judiciary system corrupted? Respondents were divided when they were asked about the integrity of the judiciary system Is the Malaysian judiciary system corrupted?

Improving efficiency can improve trust level towards local government Improving efficiency can improve trust level towards local government. Elected local government is desired by some respondents. REASONS TO TRUST Local Government The services are efficient The council is accessible The councilors are competent They are clean Notable comments: REASONS NOT TO TRUST “Local governments are unelected” “There is strong sense of nepotism as the local authorities are not chosen by the people” “The local governments only looking at making money instead of serving the people” The services are inefficient They are corrupt The councilors are incompetent The council is inaccessible

Press freedom could be the key to restore trust towards mainstream media REASONS TO TRUST Mainstream Media The top editors are qualified and experienced Newspapers are free to report without interference from external parties The reports are fair and accurate Editors and reporters are not easily influenced by external parties REASONS NOT TO TRUST Newspapers are NOT free to report without interference from external parties Editors and reporters are easily influenced by external parties The reports are unfair and inaccurate The top editors are NOT qualified and experienced

Fairness and accuracy of reporting are the next most important determinant of trust REASONS TO TRUST Online Media Free to report without interference from external parties The reports are fair and accurate Writers have much experience REASONS NOT TO TRUST NOT free to report without interference from external parties The reports are unfair and inaccurate Writers do not have much experience

Fighting corruption can enhance trust in the police force Royal Malaysian Police REASONS TO TRUST The force is efficient The personnel are professional They are easy to access They practice meritocracy They are clean REASONS NOT TO TRUST They are corrupt The personnel are not professional The force is inefficient They favor certain race They are hard to access

Malaysian Armed Forces Armed forces can improve on impartiality and fairness in treatment to all Malaysian Armed Forces REASONS TO TRUST They are disciplined They are well trained They are professional Impartial and are fair in treatment to ALL They practice meritocracy REASONS NOT TO TRUST Not impartial and are unfair in treatment to ALL They don’t appear to be well trained They are not professional They are not disciplined

Integrity, fairness and efficiency are key for public institutions to build trust