Leaders must deliver results to build trust: Chan Chun Sing

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing (centre) speaking during a session on the One Belt One Road initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan 24. ST PHOTO: WARREN FERNANDEZ

Trust has been eroded in many developed countries because governments had failed to deliver on their promises that globalisation would bring a better life for their people.

This, coupled with a fall in people's sense that they could rely on the information they were receiving with the proliferation of fake news and dubious reports on the Internet, had contributed to the growing lack of trust in societies.

Giving his take on a hot topic of debate at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos over the past week, Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said these had led to the "trust deficit" that was much bemoaned by various speakers.

Noting that globalisation and trade would give rise to both winners and losers in society, he added that what was needed were strong central authorities, with both the ability and the will to redistribute some of the benefits gained to those who were left behind.

The failure to do so had given rise to the backlash that resulted in Brexit and shock election results elsewhere, he noted.

Quite naturally, voters would ask if their lives had improved over the past five or 10 years. And, if not, they would question the received wisdom that globalisation was a boon to society, he said.

"Voters will ask, am I better off because you have delivered on your promises, based on the system you have," he said.

And if the system did not deliver the promised results, voters would wonder if those in government knew this, and if so, why had they not told them so. Either way, trust would be affected.

"The first question is a question of competence, the second is a matter of integrity."

To earn trust, leaders have to be forthright and honest with the people about the challenges that the country faced and options to tackle them. They also have to spell out clearly what the "next mountain to climb together" was, he added.

"For Singapore, every generation of leadership, regardless of who forms the government, must firstly be able to deliver a better quality of life and standards of living for the people. People must have the sense that they have the opportunity to realise their dreams, especially for the next generation, their children.

"Then, there is the question of how you can build trust because you are upfront, forthright, honest about the challenges and options that the country has to confront together."

The spread of fake news, and modern communications technologies which have allowed everyone to be a publisher and share information, has undermined the role of traditional gatekeepers and the mainstream media, making it harder for people to know who they could trust or what information they could believe.

Both this intangible aspect of trust as well as the delivering of tangible benefits as promised were critical in building up the people's sense of belief in the system and their leaders, he said.

"If we don't manage these two aspects well, then we should not make any presumptions that we will garner the trust of a new generation," he said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on January 28, 2018, with the headline Leaders must deliver results to build trust: Chan Chun Sing. Subscribe