SINGAPORE: A new study has shown that about a third of Singaporeans are "cynics" who do not trust politicians.
The survey, conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies, covered nearly 1,100 Singaporeans, aged 21 and above.
It was carried out in July and August last year, around nine months before the May general election.
Compared
to other liberal democracies like the US, which sees a higher
percentage of cynics (47%-73%), researchers say the 30 per cent figure
for Singapore is not huge.
Still they say the ruling People's Action Party should be "worried".
The
study's definition of cynics include people who think they are often
manipulated by politicians; politicians forgetting their election
promises; and politicians who think having power is more important than
catering to the people's wishes.
In other words, cynics are unhappy with the person, rather than the system.
However, the study did not differentiate whether the politician is from the ruling or opposition parties.
Arun
Mahizhnan, deputy director of the Institute of Policy Studies, said:
"Certainly in the recent past, in Singapore, there is some disaffection
with the delivery of public goods. You heard about the transportation
problems, the housing problems, even things like the flood.
"So
to what extent are these permanent features? To what extent are these
immediate reactions? This is yet to be determined. But this survey
suggests that there is a significant minority who are cynical and there
are ways in which the cynicism could be addressed."
The study
also found that there is no significant relation between a cynic, how
much he earns, his education and age. It said the difference is not a
socio-economic one but a political one. That means cynics in Singapore
cut across the entire cross-section of the community.
Unlike
other countries, cynics in Singapore are also not influenced by
mainstream media. Rather, about 13 per cent get their news from
alternative new media sites like The Online Citizen and
Yawningbread.org.
They are mostly young and educated.
So
experts say policy makers should exploit the Internet and new media in
their engagement efforts, on top of deepening relations - both online
and offline.
Dr Zhang Weiyu, National University of Singapore's
assistant professor of communications & new media, said: "Since
these people tend to use online channels and interpersonal channels to
discuss politics, we should take advantage of these two channels to
reach out to this group of people.
"They probably also go to
mass media but they don't do that as often as people who are less
cynical and we find that they have lower trust in these mass media
compared to people who are less cynical.
"So the government or
the policy makers should take advantage of the Internet and other
interpersonal interactions to influence these people - interpersonal
like Meet-The-People sessions and also I suggest that we can conduct
more consultational panels with normal citizens.
"We need to
encourage interpersonal discussions directly between politicians and
citizens. So it's not just politicians trying to send their message
through mass media to the citizens because we find that interpersonal
talk has a big influence."
The study also showed that mainstream
media complement alternative new media sites. For example, 72.2 per cent
turn to television for news, while 71.6 per cent read the newspapers
for their main source of information.
Another group that need to
be engaged further are those who claim they do not consume any news, be
it through traditional or alternative media sources. They constitute
about 14 per cent of respondents.
- CNA/al
There's a big difference between scepticism and cynicism, and the prof and the reporter got them badly mixed up.
maybe if they build more confidence in the community...the figure might go down.
There's so much garbage, false propaganda, disinformation in the state media.
Only an idiot would not be cynical.
Those who are not cynical means they are still sleeping.
Important to keep political cynics a minority: PAP MPs
SINGAPORE: Three out of 10 Singaporeans are political cynics and MPs from the People's Action Party said it is important to keep this number low.
They believe it is difficult to act in the best interest of the country if people doubt their credibility and trustworthiness.
They were responding to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) which measured political cynicism among Singaporeans.
The
result did not come as a surprise to many as this level of political
cynicism was evident during the watershed General Election in May and a
keenly fought Presidential Election.
In the IPS study,
respondents were asked whether politicians quickly forget their election
promises after a campaign, whether having power is more important to
politicians than catering to people's wishes, and whether people are
often manipulated by them.
While the IPS study did not
differentiate between politicians from the ruling or opposition parties,
it is believed this cynicism is targeted, to a greater degree, at the
ruling party.
But some PAP MPs are undaunted.
Member of
Parliament for Sembawang GRC, Mr Vikram Nair, said: "There's certainly
more criticism levelled at the PAP than the opposition. Part of it is
the fact that we've been in government for so long.
"But right
now, the opposition is controlling one GRC and one SMC, so they are also
responsible for more things. I guess the more things you're responsible
for, the more they too will find themselves probably getting
criticised."
Mr Baey Yam Keng, Member of Parliament for Tampines
GRC, said: "I think it shows people are discerning. They do have a view
so they will not trust everything they hear or see.
"I think
it's good compared to other developed economies. It's lower than US or
Netherlands. It's a reflection of how Singapore population is more
educated and more informed. Personally, it's not necessarily a bad
sign."
In the US, a similar study found 47 per cent to 73 per cent of the people were 'cynical'.
Mr Baey said that Singapore's level of cynicism is not alarming, and that each society needs to be looked at on its own.
He added that Singapore has to find its equilibrium, where people, government, ruling party and opposition parties can co-exist.
But the MPs qualify that cynicism does need to be kept in check.
Mr
Nair said: "Cynicism is also infectious. If someone is cynical, it's
possible especially if they write a lot about it. They could get other
people to be cynical so that the number may grow. That is a danger we
face.
"But it's always easier to criticise than to address every
criticism levelled against you. So there's a limit to how much we will
be able to do to counter that."
Singapore Management University's
Assistant Professor Eugene Tan said: "It's important that we keep the
number of cynical Singaporeans to the political process to a minimum,
simply because we're at the stage of our political development where
it's important for every Singaporean to be engaged.
"There are
severe challenges, and if talk about active citizenry, that cannot take
place if you have a citizen who is cynical about the political actors."
The
IPS study implies that policymakers should exploit the Internet and the
new media in their engagement efforts. In addition, the study suggests
politicians hold interpersonal discussions to reach out and convert the
cynics.
Mr Nair said: "For myself, I never run away from critics.
I'm actually quite happy to get involved in debates. Quite often, I'm
also seeing people writing very long acrimonious e-mails, sometimes
anonymously to my inbox.
"But the trouble is if you write
detailed responses to every one of them, you really won't have the time
to do your other work. So I think there probably needs to be some
balance."
Mr Nair agrees and believes that more should be done to educate Singaporeans about the work that politicians do.
Channel NewsAsia also approached opposition MPs on this issue but they declined to comment.
- CNA/fa
yest may be true. we singaporeans should also vote wisely, for our own future.
quote taken from another topic
"The extent of human greed and lack of scruple at the expense of netizen well-being was incredible"
As we needed a study to prove it.
"The study also found that there is no significant relation between a cynic, how much he earns, his education and age....
They are mostly young and educated."
Any one understands how can there be no significant relation with "education" and "age" but the cynics can be mostly young and educated? Unless the article is referring to the population make up in general which is basically not saying anything.
Anyway, 30% is actually quite low. If anything it seems to point at a more ignorant and guilible society in Singapore.
There is also a significant difference between whether they trust the politician is doing the right/important things and whether they are manipulated.