Singapore Govt still trusted by most, poll finds

Singapore Govt still trusted by most, poll finds

Singapore has slipped in an online survey on the level of trust people have in institutions such as the government, business and the media.

It fell two spots to fifth, behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Indonesia and China, in this year's Edelman Trust Barometer. Last year, it was third, behind China and the UAE.

This year's fall in ranking is due to waning confidence in all four areas covered in the survey: government, media, business and non-governmental organisations (NGO).

The online poll is done annually by the research arm of Edelman, a United Statesbased international public relations firm with offices in 65 cities around the world.

The findings are based on the online interviews with 200 people it described as members of the "informed public".

The group consists of graduates between the ages of 25 and 64. They are from the top 25 per cent of households in terms of income for their age group, and had indicated that they read media reports widely.

The survey findings show that the Singapore Government remains one of the most trusted in the world.

In other countries, such as Sweden, Australia and Canada, about 50 per cent to 60 per cent of respondents indicated they trust their Government.

When asked to rank how much they trust the government to do what is right, 70 per cent of the Singapore respondents ticked a high level of trust, compared with 75 per cent in the previous year's survey.

Among the four areas, the media saw the biggest annual decline.

Some 59 per cent said they trust the media to do the right thing, against 70 per cent previously.

Also, 66 per cent trust traditional media such as newspapers and television, compared with 79 per cent the previous year.

A double-digit drop was also seen for businesses: 61 per cent against 71 per cent.

For NGOs, trust dipped to 71 per cent from 76 per cent, according to the survey.

yuenc@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on Feb 04, 2015.
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