1. Do Malaysians Trust Public Institutions?
Media Conference
5 July 2018

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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
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

5. 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%

6. 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%

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

8. 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

9. 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?

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

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