EPF, Petronas most trusted organisations among Malaysians

SHAH ALAM - The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) have become Malaysians' most trusted organisation and trust fund institution in 2022.

Market Research Firm Ipsos Sdn Bhd (Ipsos) study showed that EPF scored 76 points in the trust index while Petronas scored 72.

Its associate director Lars Erik Lie said 2022 would see the pandemic that hit the world become less of a concern to the public.

"The worries are now shifted to the issues of inflation, cost of living and rising interest rates causing the transition to the post-pandemic phase to proceed less smoothly than the expectations and hopes initially.

"However, in the middle of the uncertainties, the level of trust Malaysians have towards companies and institutions remained in 2022.

"Similar to the previous year, the level of trust towards companies and regulatory agencies, in particular, remained intact with EPF and Petronas occupying the top two ranks as the most trusted entities in Malaysia," he said through an Ipsos report on Friday.

Nestle, North-South Expressway (Plus) and Petron were the new names among the top in 2022.

Nestle and Plus shared the same score of 71 points, while Petron scored 70.

Lars said the abolishment of the Movement Control Order (MCO) witnessed many individuals travelling and contributing to the rise of interactions among consumers and brands such as Plus and Petron.

He explained the company that produced fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) recorded an increase in confidence in the past year despite the price hike in goods.

"The situation now shows individuals understand the increase in consumer goods prices was because of macro powers outside of the company's control," he said.

Lars said the 15th General Election (GE15) last year contributed to the public's recognition of the media sector by recording the highest jump in trust in 2022.

The same research recorded the trust towards the financial sector as moderate but showed slight improvements compared to 2021.

"The continued interest rate hikes stretching into 2023 are not helping improve the situation at all," he said.

Ipsos's research involved 6,000 respondents who were interviewed in person and represented all corners of the country.