It is clear that public trust plays a critical role in developing a vibrant economy and a strong society. A reasonably high level of public trust will enable the public, the Government, and the various organisations and groups in the different sectors in Singapore to work together to build a cohesive and adaptive community. This means a community characterised by constructive relationships embedded in positive economic, human, social, political and psychological capital.

Public trust is important because it affects how people think, feel and behave. Trust takes time to build, is easy to lose, and once lost is difficult to restore. Trust is multi-dimensional, having to do with distinct aspects relating to competence, integrity and benevolence. Trust is also dynamic — it changes over time and the direction of change is not pre-determined.

Given how critical and complex the concept of trust is, we need to have a valid and honest understanding of trust, if we want to shed light on how and why public trust changes, and how we can repair public trust violation and develop public trust in Singapore.

The book is organised into four parts. Part 1 provides an overview of issues involved in thinking about public trust. Part 2 examines public trust in the context of upholding public accountability and discusses specific issues of public transport in Singapore. Part 3 analyses the relationships linking trust to social media analytics as well as healthcare. Part 4 addresses specific questions on public trust in Singapore in terms of social harmony, race and religion, education, civil society, social inequalities, dealing with differences and disagreements, political leadership, and relationships between people and government.

This book will provide the reader new perspectives and possibilities related to questions that have become more salient in recent years as Singapore society underwent significant changes that likely impact on the nature and level of public trust.