Survey: Doctors Overtake Teachers As The Most Trusted Profession In Malaysia, Politicians The Least

Growing up we were often advised by our parents to study hard so that we can become either a doctor, teacher, lawyer or engineer in the future. Fortunately for some of us, our dreams of becoming of a doctor have become a reality.

Perhaps our parents have got a point, as a survey recently revealed that Malaysians think that doctors are the most trustworthy profession. The survey titled “Trust in Professions” by Ipsos revealed that doctors hold the top spot for the most trusted professions, with 68% of their respondents considering them trustworthy, followed by teachers (65%), scientists (57%), armed forces (52%) and judges (49%).

The survey was conducted in 28 different markets and surveyed 19,570 online adults with 500 respondents coming from Malaysia.

The survey was also conducted in 2019 where it had found that teachers were the most trusted professions with doctors in second place.

Ipsos noted that the world also trusts doctors the most.

Meanwhile, politicians were the least trustworthy profession both in Malaysia and globally. Only 19% of Malaysian respondents had said that they trusted politicians, whilst globally this percentage dropped to only 10%.

Apart from politicians generally, the bottom five least trusted professions in Malaysia consisted of; journalists and business leaders (32%), clergy (28%), advertising executives (26%) and government ministers (24%).

Ipsos believes that this shift has come as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Associate Director of Ipsos’s public affairs department, Lars Erik Lie said, “As the country grapples with getting the pandemic under control, all sections of society are forced to play a part in the recovery process. Trust is a key ingredient in facilitating a broad response, hereunder the trust ordinary people have in society’s leading professions.”

“More Malaysians have been interacting with the healthcare system than ever before, and it’s reflected in doctors surpassing teachers as the most trusted profession.”

“At the other end of the scale, politicians are the least trusted ― that’s the case across the world, as well as in Malaysia,” said Lie.

“Similar to health care professionals, politicians and government ministers have been visible faces throughout the pandemic, without reaping the same benefits in terms of trust in their profession.”

Our frontliners and healthcare workers have remained strong throughout the pandemic and we Malaysians will forever be grateful for the work that they have done and will continue to do in the future.

Check out the Ipsos survey here.

Do you agree with the results of the survey? Let us know in the comments.

Also read: Study: 75% Of Malaysians Believe The Country’s Economy Is Rigged To Benefit The Rich