Basic everyday decisions rely on trust, as it is the critical thread in our social fabric.
When we purchase something online, we expect the seller to be trustworthy and not send us a substandard product that only looks good and glossy in its advertisement.
Trust is crucial in any relationship. In marriage, for instance, a wife will be suspicious of her husband when she finds out that her partner hides his second cellphone under the car seat or makes a call to someone from unlikely places, like the toilet.
An employer can be doubtful of an employee if he repeats mistakes at the cost of the company's profits. A collaboration between two businesses is impossible when there is mutual distrust.
In politics and governance, trust is even more important. When a government does not have integrity and accountability, and does not walk the talk, people's trust is eroded.
Trust is the integral component of all thriving relationships, governed by certain key elements such as boundaries, reliability, accountability, confidentiality and integrity.
It's about creating trust.
In Malaysia, we have trust issues with our politics and governance. Many a time, we question the reliability, accountability and integrity of our leaders.
Recently, netizens took to social media to criticise the Finance Ministry for appointing former Umno minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's daughter, Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah Salleh, as an independent non-executive director of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). People cited concerns about reliability, accountability and integrity.
Some quarters in political circles also questioned the appropriateness of Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa defending Izzana's appointment during his ministry's budget debates in the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 8.
Annuar said the young woman was highly qualified having graduated from Harvard University and the Imperial College Business School.
He said Izzana's qualifications proved she had a good track record but it was unfortunate that she was associated with the family's issues.
Some netizens ramped up their criticism, saying that Izzana did not have the credibility nor experience to advise MDEC on corporate decisions, citing her previous endeavours.
I came across a stinging open letter to Annuar written by an automotive start-up company founder who went by the name of Aliff Ahmad, who said there were other candidates who were not Ivy League graduates or children of prominent politicians but had excellent experience and credentials.
For Aliff and other critics, Izzana is perceived as a "convenient and congenial candidate" and that there was no real effort to find better talent.
There are many trust issues perceived to be occurring in the country. We have had prime ministers replaced since the last general election because of power struggles.
Due to trust issues, we have seen political parties divided and government machinery stalled, thus hampering the delivery of services to the people.
Every time the government changes, policies change, too.
People are fed up and they don't trust the government when there are massive job losses and the prices of essential items skyrocket.
Even the 5G roll-out has been plagued with allegations that the government is favouring telecommunications companies rather than asking what the consumers think, need and want.
Over time, trust wears off when confidence, faith and hope diminishes in the hearts of the people. We are not alone.
People around the world are having trust issues against their governments during periods of uncertainty, like the Covid-19 pandemic.
When trust is in deficit, it can result in protests and riots. Trust takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to repair.
The writer, a former NST journalist, is a film scriptwriter whose penchant is finding new food haunts
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times