This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 20, 2021 - December 26, 2021

“To earn trust, money and power aren’t enough; you have to show some concern for others. You can’t buy trust in the supermarket.” — Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1940–present).

Well, what do you know — you blink, and it’s year end already, and everyone is looking for a better year next year. Don’t want to be you, 2022, because your arrival is awaited with a heavy burden of hopeful expectations and frightful trepidation. Believe me, we have suffered enough already this year and last.

The whole world is looking for a reset within this “New Normal”. We are all tired of Covid-19 and its various variants, tired of international trade wars that affect every nation on earth, tired of rehashed Cold Wars across many fronts — we are simply, just tired!

Closer to home, our government is trying to breathe optimism into our collective souls by telling us that yes, “…this too shall pass”. Next year will definitely be better. 

After all, our ministers were given a 90% pass mark on their 100-day anniversary by their Boss! Hey Ho, it’s off to work we go.

Well, I have a question Mr Government sir, “…this too shall pass, but at what cost?” Nothing that we have experienced so far points to better days ahead! With inflation on a northward trajectory, a dearth of foreign direct investment (FDI) and investments yielding low returns, you will excuse us if we are not convinced.

Ladies and gentlemen, I posit to you that no amount of official assurances will gain traction in the minds of thinking Malaysians unless the Elephant in the Room is addressed.

You, Mr Government sir, have a trust deficit.

A huge number of us do not trust your government. But that is nothing new. 

According to a recent (2020) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey, only 51% of citizens trusted their governments in 2020! So why should Malaysia be any different?

As countries grappled with the global pandemic and resulting economic hardship, governments across the world played a crucial role in protecting lives and livelihoods. Yet, on average across OECD countries (and others too), only about half of people say they trust their national government. This is not good.

During all stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, including containment, mitigation and recovery, trust in public institutions was vital for governments’ ability to respond rapidly and to secure the support of their citizens. It also mattered for planning and implementing an inclusive recovery from the Covid-19 emergency. Yet the constantly changing faces in our ministries, the untenable practice of party hopping among politicians (and the resulting by-elections) and ineffective, often conflicting official pronouncements have put paid to the traditional trust we Malaysians have in our present government

There are just a few elemental forces that hold our world together. The one that is the glue of society is called Trust. Its presence cements relationships by allowing people to live and work together, feel safe, and belong to a group. It reassures an excitable public.

Trust in a leader allows governments and communities to flourish, while the absence of trust can cause fragmentation, conflict and even war. That is why we need our government and our leaders to regain our trust.

Trust is hard to define, but we do know when it’s lost. When that happens, we withdraw our energy and level of engagement. We go on an internal strike, not wanting to be sympathetic to the people we feel have hurt us or treated us wrongly.

We may not show it outwardly, but we are less likely to tell the formerly trusted person that we are upset, to share what is important to us or to follow through on commitments. As a result, we pull back from that person and no longer feel part of their world. This loss of trust can be obvious or somewhat hidden — especially if we pretend to be present but inwardly disengage. Learn to read the signs. Please.

In the longer term, trust is needed to tackle long-term societal challenges beyond Covid-19, such as climate change, a stalled economy and even the ageing population. As a government, you misspend public trust at your own risk.

One dictionary definition of trust is “feeling safe when vulnerable”. When we depend on a government, a leader, family member or friend, we can feel vulnerable, and we need trust to manage the anxiety of this feeling. When trust is present, things go well, but when trust is lost, the relationship is at risk.

Trust here relates to leadership and power, but it is not a given. To be effective, a leader must earn the trust of his or her constituents to ensure their participation and allegiance. Indeed, any successful relationship — whether it’s leader to follower, consultant or coach to client, or the relationship between spouses, siblings and friends — relies on a level of trust that must be earned.

Yet even trust that is earned can be quickly lost and cannot be quickly regained. If members of a team or relationship lose trust in each other, it takes a great deal of work to restore it. People are not quick to reinvest in a relationship where trust has been broken. They generally move on.

Since trust is so important in both government and personal relationships, how can we monitor it, build upon it and heal it when it becomes frayed? I think it is useful to view trust as a natural response to certain qualities in a person, group or organisation, and the absence of these qualities will diminish the level of trust.

So, what is a government lacking in the trust department to do? Go back to the basics, because there is no right way to do a wrong thing.

A government that is true to its word and fulfils its commitments encourages trust. Focus and do the job you are supposed to do well, and that should slowly get people back on your side.

Another trait that needs display is transparency. People are anxious about unknowns and tend to assume the worst when they are not informed about a new development. When government decides unilaterally without consultation, or does not share important information, the public can easily become distrustful. On the other hand, when people share their thoughts, feelings and considerations, or when a government, usually through its leader, tells its members what is going on, everyone knows where they stand and trust can flourish.

Competency is another element that is central to building trust. If you think a leader in government is not capable of doing what he is supposed to do, you cannot trust him. Therefore, even when a person has a good heart or good intentions and we like them personally, they cannot win our trust if they are not capable of doing what they promise. After all, why does one need so many well-paid advisors to help one do one’s job?

People can often sense when someone says something that is not aligned with what they are feeling inside. When a leader is insincere or inauthentic, people will not believe what he or she is saying. A leader who says one thing but who acts differently is not congruent. For example, it is hard to believe someone who says they will listen but does not give you a chance to speak, or someone who says she is concerned about people yet seems to have no plans to encourage reemployment.

People may think they can hide their true feelings or contradictions, but others can quickly detect a lack of sincerity or congruency. That is when trust is eroded. It is all about the people and their welfare, Mr Government.

The dynamics of trust are delicate in important relationships, especially between the government and its citizens, and the loss of trust can be costly — not only psychologically but also economically and in terms of work and livelihood. What is helpful to remember is that trust is an ongoing exchange between people and is not static. Trust can be earned. It can be lost. And it can be regained.

Happy New Year all!

Zakie Shariff is executive chairman of Kiarafics Sdn Bhd, a strategy consulting group. He is also adjunct professor at the Faculty of Industrial Management, Universiti Malaysia Pahang.

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