More informed people likely to be cynical of gov't: Umno exco

The more mature the democracy, the less likely the people are to trust the government, said Umno Youth executive committee member Shahril Hamdan.

"As a democracy matures, as people get more informed, they are more likely to be less trusting of authority figures.

"So whether you're with the government, politician, big business leader or a corporate guy, people are going to be more cynical of you as they become more informed with the media," Shahril said to reporters after the results of a trust barometer study was presented in Kuala Lumpur today.

As the people become more cynical of the government, they are going to view that whatever the government does is for its own self-interest, even if it was a good action, he added.

Politicians need to be aware of this trend but also do something to counteract the distrust, he said.

He said back then people respected politicians and elected officials because of their positions and titles.

Now, however, that is no longer true as the people expect to see tangible outcomes from an elected official before trusting them.

"The game has changed. It is incumbent on you to prove why you are to be trusted," Shahril said.

The trust barometer study was conducted by Edelman Malaysia among 33,000 people in 28 countries, and the results for this year were presented earlier today.

It revealed that trust in government in Malaysia had fallen seven points to 39 percent among the general population and 11 points to 34 percent among the informed public. -mkini