THESE are difficult times and thus, stress levels are on the rise
If you’re suffering from tension, headaches, feelings of depression and other effects of too much strain, think about how you can help yourself.
Firstly, everyone is different so the things that you find stressful may not be stressful to others. For example, approaching strangers and asking them to sign up for something may be a horror for you, but it gets a natural salesperson smiling with anticipation.
Bottom line: stress is intensely personal. Figure out what factors hit you hardest. Now you know where to start.
Secondly, stress is something imposed on you that you just have to accept.
A lot of the time, you can anticipate and plan to manage the events that make you uptight.
For example, if you know that Tuesdays are stressful because it’s the day when you have a one-on-one with a tough client, make sure that you schedule something afterwards that will help you blow off steam – like a run or a coffee with a cherished friend.
Thirdly, just like stress is highly individual, so are methods for managing it.
Classic methods include physical exercise, breathing, meditation and eating properly.
However, if you’re doing these and they are not working for you, explore ways that work for you. Maybe you distress from painting, cooking or composting haiku.
If you need ideas, just think back to the last time you were feeling serene.
Finally, it’s not a sign of strength to ignore stress.
Studies show that long-term stress will affect your health and can lead to problems such as insomnia, upset stomachs, rashes and high blood pressure.
So don’t ignore those little niggles. Instead listen to your body and take early action.
PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz is presenting Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat, the first under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration.
Budget 2021 is widely expected to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest federal budget to date, as it contains many measures to help ordinary Malaysians and to stimulate economic recovery in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Follow the developments below:
Updating...
Special finance aid for civil servants
The government announced a special finance aid worth RM600 for civil servants grade 56 and below. For pensioners and veterans with no pension, a special financial aid of RM300 will be given. Both aids will be paid out early 2021.
Vapourising vaping
Excise duty at an ad valorem rate of 10% on all types of electronic cigarette devices and non-electronic devices, including vaping products.
Electronic cigarette liquids will also be subjected to an excise duty at a rate of RM0.40 per millimetre.
More savings for households
SAVE 2.0 programme will be introduced, where an e-Rebate of RM200 for a household purchasing a locally made air-conditioning unit or refrigerator. RM30mil has been allocated for the programme, and it would benefit 140,000 households.
Duty-free doom for ciggies
Beginning January 2021, no more new cigarette import licences will be issued. Such licence renewals will also be tightened and the conditions revised, including imposing import quotas.
The transhipment of cigarette exports will be limited to selected ports. Taxes will be imposed on drawbacks on all imported cigarettes for the purpose of transhipment and re-export.
The government will also not allow transhipment activities and re-exports of cigarettes using pump boats.
Taxes will also be imposed on cigarettes and tobacco products at all duty-free islands.
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Towards cleaner rivers
RM50mil will be allocated to tackle rubbish and solid waste in rivers,
Education Ministry gets biggest allocation
The Education Ministry will receive the biggest allocation with RM50.4bil or 15.6% of the total budget.
Task force beefed to battle smuggling
The Multi-Agency Task Force will be empowered with the inclusion of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and National Anti-Financial Crime Centre to battle smuggling of high duty items.
When the levy breaks
To help reduce the cashflow burden of still-affected companies, a Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) levy exemption will be given for six months effective Jan 1, 2021. This exemption will cover the tourism sector and companies affected by Covid-19.
Indigenous inspiration
To ensure the wellbeing of the Orang Asli community, RM158mil has been allocated.
This will be channelled to social assistance and development programmes.
A total of RM5mil has been allocated for surveying work to mark the borders of 21 villages.
Another RM41mil has been allocated for a Native Customary Rights programme in Sabah and Sarawak.
Assistance for contractors
RM2.5bil will be allocated to Class G1 to G4 contractors to carry out small and medium projects nationwide. This will include RM200mil for Federal road maintenance and RM50mil for the maintenance of People's Housing Program housing units.
Special grant for Sabah traders
The government has heard about the plight of the traders and hawkers in Sabah who were greatly affected from the reduced presence of tourists. Thus, an additional Prihatin Special Grant (GKP) of RM1,000 will be given to traders and hawkers in Sabah. This special grant will also be given to taxi drivers, e-hailing drivers, car rentals and tourist guides in Sabah.
Equity crowdfunding boost
To encourage more individual investors to participate in equity crowdfunding (ECF) platforms, an income tax exemption of 50% from the invested amount or limited to RM50,000 will be given.
RM30mil is allocated to a matching grant that will be invested into ECF platforms under the supervision of the Securities Commission.
Preparing for tourists
To ensure the readiness of tourist hotspots, RM50mil is prepared for the maintenance and repairs of tourism facilities all over the country. RM20mil has also been allocated for improving the infrastructure and spurring the promotion of Cultural Villages in Terengganu, Melaka, Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan.
Healthcare help
RM35mil allocated to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council to increase competitiveness in the local health tourism sector.
The government will also extend the tax exemption for private healthcare service exports until 2022.
Micro credit financing
Micro credit financing of almost RM1.2bil will be made available through Tekun, PUNB, Agrobank, BSN and other financial institutions. This includes an additional RM110mil to the Micro Enterprises Facility under Bank Negara to encourage entrepreneurship activities among gig workers and those who are self-employed as well as to support the iTekad implementation programme.
Preserving heritage buildings
RM10mil will be allocated to ensure heritage buildings such as Bangunan Sultan Abdul Saad and Carcosa Seri Negara will be maintained and become tourism icons.
More child care centres at government buildings
To improve the support system for frontliners and working parents, RM30mil has been allocated for the setting up of child care centres at government buildings, especially hospitals. Another Rm20mil has been in grants will be allocated to the private sector to encourage them to set up similar centres.
Locals and Orang Asli as tourist guides
Employment opportunities will be provided to 500 people from the local community and the Orang Asli as tourist guides at all national parks to spur the ecotourism segment.
Help for airline staff
The government recognises that the tourism industry, especially airline companies, are among the most affected sectors. Thus, the government will provide training programs and relocations for 8,000 staff from airline companies in Malaysia, with an allocation of RM50mil.
Boost for palm oil sector
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme will be continued with RM20mil to boost the growth of the country's palm oil sector. A matching grant of RM30mil to encourage investments will be introduced.
Social support centre for women
To combat the issue of domestic violence, the government will set up a social support centre with an allocation of RM21mil. With the help of NGOs, the centre will provide social and moral support for women, especially those facing domestic violence and divorce.
Promoting Malaysian-made goods
RM35mil will be allocated to promote Malaysian-made goods and services under the trade and investment mission.
Supporting the production of local products
The National Development Scheme (NDS) worth RM1.4bil will be allocated to support the implementation of domestic supply chain development and increase the production of local products such as medical equipment.
Safety net
RM24mil has been allocated for a Socso disaster scheme that is expected to benefit 100,000 workers, including delivery drivers and contractual civil service workers.
Contribution to battle Covid-19
Four glove manufacturers - Top Glove, Hartalega, Supermax and Kossan have committed to contribute RM400mil to battle Covid-19, including bearing the cost of the Covid-19 vaccine and health equipment.
<Encouraging high tech and innovative sector Encouraging high tech and innovative sector
RM500mil High Technology Fund will be provided by Bank Negara to support high tech and innovative sector companies.
EPF withdrawal for insurance purchase
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will allow its members to withdraw from their Account 2 to purchase insurance products for themselves and their family members. The Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) tax relief of RM3000 a year has been extended until 2025.
RM1bil will be provided as a technology and high value investment incentive package.
Allocation for Defence Ministry and Home Ministry
The Defence Ministry and the Home Ministry will be allocated RM16bil and RM17bil, respectively.
Improving cyber security safety
RM27mil will be allocated to CyberSecurity Malaysia to improve the cyber security safety of the country.
Laptops for online classes
To ensure students at higher learning institutions (IPT) on PTPTN loans are able to follow online classes, the government will work with BSN to ready RM100mil to finance Skim BSN MyRInggit-i COMSIS, a laptop computer loan scheme.
Unlimited pass, and beyond!
The My30 Unlimited Travel Pass initiative will be continued and further implemented in Penang and Kuantan with an overall allocation of RM300mil.
An unlimited monthly travel pass at RM5 will be introduced to students from Year One to Form Six, as well as disabled students.
Tax relief for parents saving for their children's future
To encourage parents to save for the costs of their children’s higher education fees, a tax relief of up to RM8.000 for National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN) net savings will be implemented until assessment year 2022.
Tourism aid
The wage subsidy programme will be extended for another three months, in a targeted manner especially for those in the tourism sector. Altogether, RM1.5bil has been allocated, with an estimated 70,000 employers and 900,000 workers expected to benefit.
Creating jobs
A short-term employment programme MyStep with an allocation of RM700mil will offer 50,000 contractual job opportunities in the civil service and government linked companies (GLCs) from January 2021.
Under this initiative, 35,000 jobs in the civil service will be offered, with a priority given to vacancies such as nurses and medical attendants. The GLCs will provide 15,000 jobs with a priority on technical and financial fields.
Better infrastructure in public universities
Some RM14.4bil will be allocated to the Higher Education Ministry. This would include RM50mil to repair infrastructure and old equipment in public universities.
Stamp duty exemption for first home owners
Full stamp duty exemption will be given to transfer of ownership document and loan agreement for the purchase of a first home worth not more than RM500,000. This exemption will be for the purchase agreement from January 2021 to Dec 31, 2025.
Stable internet connection in universities
To ensure stable internet connection in tertiary education institutions, the government has allocated RM50mil to upgrade the Malaysian Research and Education Network (MYREN) access from 500Mbps to 10Gbps.
Free laptops for students
In the new normal, online learning has become an everyday practice. GLCs and GLICs will contribute RM150mil to Tabung Cerdik to give laptops to 150,000 students at 500 schools in a pilot project. The project will be overseen by Yayasan Hasanah.
A healthier, fitter you (with apologies to Radiohead)
The government allocates RM19mil to implement the Healthy Malaysia National Agenda (Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat) to encourage a healthy lifestyle and reduce the risk of of diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
As much as RM28mil will be allocated to carry out programmes like MyFit, Hari Sukan Negara and the Inspire programme for the disabled.
Higher lifestyle tax relief
The limit of the ‘lifestyle tax relief’ has been raised from RM2,500 to RM3,000, which is an increase of RM500 specifically for sports-related expenditure, including entrance participation fees for sports competitions. The scope of the relief has also been expanded to include subscription to electronic newspapers.
Assistance for rubber smallholders
To help rubber smallholders, the rubber production incentive will be increased from RM150mil to RM300mil, with an expected 150,000 smallholders to benefit from this. Another RM1.7bil will be allocated in forms of subsidies, assistance, and incentives for farmers and fishermen.
RM50 e-wallet credit for the youth
The government through the eYouth Programme (Program eBelia) will credit a one-off RM50 to e-wallet accounts of those aged between 18 and 20 years old. With the allocation of RM75mil, the initiative will benefit some 1.5mil youths.
Community centres for childcare
Community centres will be provided as a place of care for children after their school session ends.
Early childhood education programmes
RM170mil will be allocated for the early childhood education programmes by the Community Development Department (Kemas).
Tax deduction for employers of senior citizens
Additional tax deductions will be given to employers who employ senior citizens. This tax deduction will be extended until 2025.
RM2.7 billion is allocated for the improvement of rural infrastructure.
Appreciation for artists
RM15mil will be allocated to the Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana) for the implementation of various art and cultural programmes that will benefit more than 5000 artists and those who work behind the scenes.
Community programmes
For the Chinese community: RM177mil will be provided for the improvement of education facilities, housing and new village development.
For the Indian community: RM100mil be allocated to the Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA) to empower the socioeconomic status of the Indian community.
PenjanaKerjaya
Under the recruitment of workers under Social Security Organisation (Socso) known as the PenjanaKerjaya:
Incentives for workers earning RM1500 and above will be increased from a rate of RM800 a month, to 40% from of its monthly salary, limited to an incentive of RM4000 a month.
Employers will be given an additional incentive of 20% to encourage job opportunities for people with disabilities, those who are unemployed long-term and workers who have been terminated.
For sectors with high reliance on foreign workers such as those in construction and plantation sector, a special incentive of 60% of the monthly salary will be provided with 40% channeled directly to employers and 20% to local workers to replace the foreign workers.
These incentive will be given for a period of six months.
Those hired under the PenjanaKerjaya, the maximum cost of the training programme that can be claimed by employers will be raised from RM4000 to RM7000 to undergo the a high-skilled programme or a professional certificate programme.
Optomising the value of Malay reserve land
RM750mil will be allocated to Pelaburan Hartanah Berhad (PHB) under the 12th Malaysian Plan to increase the value of Bumiputra reserve land.
Lower EPF contributions
The EPF contribution rate for workers will be reduced from 11% to 9% starting January 2021, for 12 months, worth a total of RM9.3bil.
Reskilling and upskilling programmes
RM1 billion will be allocated for upskilling and reskilling programme involving 200,000 people.
LOWER TAXES … for some
The income tax of those earning between RM50,001 and RM70,000 will be lowered by one percentage point, expected to benefit 1.4 million taxpayers.
For a period of two assessment years, the income tax exemption limit for compensation paid upon job loss will be increased from RM10,000 to RM20,000 for every year of service completed.
Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR)
The Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) assistance package will be changed to Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) with better assistance.
1) Those with a household income of less than RM2500, and with a child will receive RM1200, while those with two children or more will receive RM1800.
2) Those with a household income of between RM2501 and RM4000, and with one child will receive RM800, while those with two children or more will receive RM1200.
3) Those with a household income of between RM4000 and RM5001, and with one child will receive RM500, while those with two children or more will receive RM750.
4) Single individuals with an income of less than Rm2500 will receive RM350.
The BPR is expected to benefit 8.1mil people with an allocation of Rm6.5bil.
Welfare assistance for the disabled
To assist the disabled (OKU), the government has agreed to increase the monthly welfare assistance for the group which includes;
1. Non-working OKU allowance increased from RM250 to RM300;
2. Assistance for senior citizens as well as OKU and chronic patients increased from RM350 to RM500;
3. Allowance for OKU workers increased from RM400 to RM450;
4. Assistance for children from poor families to be increased. An increase of RM100 to RM150 per child between the age of seven and 18 years, and up to RM450 per family, or an increase to RM200 for a child aged six and below per family to a maximum of RM1,000 per family.
EPF withdrawal
In a much awaited-move, the government has announced the targeted facility to withdraw EPF savings from Account 1, as much as RM500 per month, amounting up to RM6,,000 for 12 months.
This withdrawal is to assist EPF members who have lost their jobs, and is expected to lighten the financial burden of 600,000 affected members.
Taking into account both the i-Lestari initiative as well as the Account 1 withdrawal facility, the total of cash withdrawal is up to RM12,000.
It is projected that the total payment for Account 1 withdrawals will involve RM4bil.
Eligible members can apply starting January 2021.
Life and health
The government will expand mySalam protection for medical device cost claims such as stents for the heart, or prostheses.
The government also intends to expand social protections for the B40 group through a voucher programme for life insurance.
Each B40 recipient will be given RM50 vouchers as financial assistance for products such as takaful and personal accident insurance.
At the same time, the government will also extend the period of stamp duty exemption on all life insurance products, not exceeding RM100, for another five years until the 2025 assessment year.
BPN2.0 second phase payments in 2021
The BPN was introduced to reduce cash flow burdens for the rakyat who are affected in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, BPN and the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) involved the channelling of RM21bil to 10.6 million recipients. In January 2021, the BPN2.0 second phase payments amounting RM2.2bil will be channelled out.
Pneumococcal immunisation programme
A pneumococcal immunisation programme will be implemented for children with an allocation of RM90mil which is expected to benefit 500,000 children.
#KitaJagaKita
The Finance Minister says he is touched with the #KitaJagaKita spirit among Malaysians, and recalls the story of Bertam-born Rosnizam Ishak, who started a marinated lamb business using Bantuan Prihatin Nasional, creating job opportunities for those in the vicinity.
He also cites the example of Pajan Singh Kirpal Singh, who provided free accommodation for frontliners posted to Kuantan during the movement control order and recovery movement control order period, and Michelle Kugan, a crystal and pearl entrepreneur who used micro loans under the National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (Tekun) to sustain her business in Tuaran, Sabah.
Thus, Budget 2021 is crafted for Malaysians and themed “Teguh Kita, Menang Bersama”.
Pro-vaxxers
To encourage Malaysians to get preventive vaccinations to curb the spread of diseases, the government will expand the scope of tax exemption for the medical treatment covering vaccination expenses such as pneumococcal, influenza and Covid-19.
Tax exemption will be given for the vaccination costs for self, spouses and children limited to RM1,000.
Tax relief
The government will raise the tax relief limit on personal, spouse and child medical treatment for serious illnesses from RM6,000 to RM8,000. In addition, the tax relief for a full health screening will be increased from RM500 to RM1,000.
The tax relief on expenses for medical treatment, special needs and parental care has also been raised from RM5,000 to RM8,000.
Big budget
Govt allocates RM322.5bil, or 20.6% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for Budget 2021. This is an increase from its total expenditure allocation for 2020, which has been revised upwards to RM314.7bil from the initial budget estimate of RM297bil.
Every individual in B40 group will receive a special voucher worth RM50 to buy takaful hayat and personal accident insurance.
An allocation of RM24mil is provided to address mental health issues by strengthening Mental Health, Terrorism and Injury Prevention Program as well as Substance Abuse.
The maximum tax relief for individual, spouse and children's medical expenses for serious medical ailments raised to RM8,000 from RM6,000
Fight the good fight
RM150mil will also be allocated for the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) to coordinate efforts to fight Covid-19.
Hail the frontliners
To honour the sacrifices of frontline workers in handling the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has agreed to a one-off payment of RM500 to them, which is expected to benefit 100,000 people.
For 2021, the government said it will allocate RM1bil more to fight the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the year 2020, the government has allocated RM1.8bil for the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) as well as related public health facilities related to Covid-19 among which is to purchase personal protection equipment (PPE), reagents and consumables.
The government will raise the ceiling of the Kumpulan Wang Covid-19 by RM20bil to RM65bil to fund the Kita Prihatin initiative.
The government proposes to raise the ceiling of the Covid-19 Fund by RM20bil to RM65bil.
Three main objectives of Budget 2021
Firstly: The wellbeing of the people
Secondly: Business continuity
Thirdly: Resilience of the economy
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz points out that Malaysia has gone through a challenging year in 2020. He says that never in modern history has a plague caused such an impact.
We will get through this!
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz: The government expects the economy to recover in 2021, and to grow by between 6.5% and 7.5% in line with the stimulus packages and Budget 2021.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz begins his speech.
Speaker allows the request and calls all MPs to enter the hall.
Let us in!
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urges that more MPs be allowed into the Hall to hear and debate the Budget 2021 proposal.
AmBank
Group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir says the government’s Budget 2021
is one that is reflective of the need for mitigatory measures to manage
the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Goh Pei Hwa from Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Science
HOW many times have we all, at some point in our lives, misinterpreted signs?
Movies like He’s Just Not That into You, which is based on Greg Behrendt’s and Liz Tuccillo’s 2004 self-help book of the same name, tells people that if a man in whom you are interested in is not making an effort to pursue you, he is “just not that into you.”
Research has long indicated that it is mostly men, who tend to misperceive friendliness as sexual interest. They overestimate the sexual interest of potential mates. Even when two people have clearly defined their relationship as platonic, more often, it is the men, who are attracted to their opposite-sex friends.
According to Dr Goh Pei Hwa from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, this is not always the case.
While the majority of existing findings show the abovementioned pattern of men overperceiving sexual interest, relationship researchers have demonstrated that among heterosexual couples in committed relationships, men were more likely to underperceive sexual interest from their partners.
Men from certain cultures were also less likely to overperceive sexual interest than others.
In other words, the “male over perception bias” appears to be less universal than previously assumed.
In her recent work, Dr Goh revisited the question of gender differences in sexual perception accuracy using a face-to-face, laboratory-based interaction paradigm on a sample of university students in Malaysia.
Participants consisted of 62 previously unacquainted heterosexual dyads aged 20 years on average. Each participant was randomly paired with another participant of the other sex, and each dyad engaged in a semi-structured conversation task for five minutes.
After the interaction task, participants completed measures capturing their degree of sexual interest in their interaction partner and an estimation of their partner’s sexual interest in them.
Results revealed that people’s perception of their partner’s sexual interest did not match their partner’s actual sexual interest. This indicates that people generally lacked accuracy in their perception of sexual interest.
In fact, people’s perception of sexual interest was highly in line with their own sexual interest in their interaction partner.
More importantly, no gender differences were found. This means that both men and women were equally inaccurate and equally likely to project their own sexual interest onto their estimations of their partner’s sexual interest.
“In essence, people are bad at interpreting sexual interest from strangers. Based on the research, Malaysian men do not overperceive sexual interest as past studies have suggested. Women, on the other hand, tend to underperceive sexual interest, supporting past studies,” says Goh.
The current study advances our understanding that people are generally underperceiving sexual interest in initial interactions, regardless of gender.
That is, people are either not communicating their sexual interest effectively or missing all the sexual interest cues being expressed by someone else.
Here, it translates into a lot of potentially missed opportunities. This is highly applicable to first meetings between potential partners, which begs the question: does technology further impede our ability to gauge the sexual interest of others accurately?
With dating apps, we typically already know that we are chatting with someone who finds us attractive or appealing to a certain extent.
Thus, there is no need to try to decipher whether or not someone is into us based on the interaction.
Goh concludes: “If you like someone or have some interest in a person, express it more overtly. This will invite the other person to respond according to his or her own interest in you.
“Let the other person decide if he or she is interested, not you and your potentially (or most likely) wrong perceptions”.
■ For more details, look out for the advertisement in this StarSpecial.
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Dirty hands are the sign of honest, though not necessarily clean, work and labor and thus the income from such work is what we could call clean money. .
A person working with his or her hands, generally, has signs of this ingrained in skin of their hands and it is those people that we should value more than those who have highly manicured hands, whether female or male, who thus, more than likely, have never done an honest day's work.
But society values the latter more than the former, unfortunately, and we can see where that has led us, I am sure. Not only does society value the clean hands, as in no physical dirt on them, but also those that make vast sums of money, which those that do an honest day's work getting their hands dirty, do not.
The worker is the backbone of society for without him or her nothing would get produced, no streets cleaned, no parks and public spaces maintained, no food produced and no wood. The majority of office staff, civil servants, bankers and such like we could well do without, but we cannot do without the worker, the farmer and the forester. Neither, I know, can we do without doctors and nurses, and the cleaners in hospitals. Nor without the carers for the elderly and the sick. But most of those would fall under the term of worker anyway and thus are covered.
The disgrace is that those who toil hard with their hands and do the real work are those that get the lowest share in remuneration from their labors while those who do not do a single stroke of work are the ones who get all the rewards, which really are not due to them.
There are schools, nowadays, and I guess they have always been, who teach the kids that they should not aspire to the “low” jobs of working with their hands with terms such as “you are better than that”, or “we”, referring in that case to the entire school, “we are better than that”. I wonder what they think would happen if there would be not refuse workers, no street cleaners, and such like. For one they would be drowning in their own garbage that they create on a daily basis, not to think about the other things that would not happen would those workers not be there.
People in rich, developed countries are increasingly disillusioned, and realising that politicians are short on long-term answers
These nations need to agree on a new approach to managing the future and a fresh compact with their society and the rest of the planet
The idea that those living successful, advanced countries can look forward to perpetual advancement is no longer a given after Covid-19 .
I thought the end of the world would look different. There are no horsemen, no mushroom cloud, no alien spacecraft. Just sweatpants and Zoom. As it turns out, rumours of our demise have been exaggerated.
If you live in the developed world, the first 20 years of this century might have resembled the apocalypse in slow motion – from September 11 to Sars, the war on terror, the global financial crisis, technological disruption and Islamic State, to Trumpian anxiety and now Covid-19. Are we reliving the Crusades or fast-forwarding to the dystopian world of Blade Runner?
And yet, for many others, the 21st century has also been a revelation. Money to spend, real-time connections with the world, the Babylonian wonders of urban life and much more.
THE (DEVELOPED) WORLD IN CRISIS
Time and again, data and insights have supported this dichotomy. For years now, polling and analysis have pointed to growing levels of dissatisfaction and malaise in a number of rich countries. This is against the backdrop of people who are not only living better lives, but empowered with opportunities thanks to greater mobility and education, which have transformed their existence.
Our study by Blackbox Research, “World in Crisis”, measured the sentiments of citizens from 23 countries toward their governments’ Covid-19 crisis management efforts. While news coverage has focused predominantly on the study’s political findings and how leaders performed, these results are in many ways less interesting and largely predictable. What really stood out to us at Blackbox were the wider perceptions of how business, media and communities were seen to have responded.
The results of our study, which have been reported in nearly 30 countries to date, show that most countries were rated poorly across the board. The major revelation for us was how people in the majority of the world’s most advanced countries – in both the East and the West – were not only shocked and surprised by how quickly the crisis overran their daily lives, but also expressed a wider feeling of being let down, giving the impression that they had expected more.
Performance ratings for business leaders and healthcare systems, even local communities and neighbourhoods, all scored more poorly in advanced nations.
Our findings, from the United States to Italy and to Japan, all point to one thing: People living in wealthier nations feel isolated and vulnerable in a way they have not felt for generations. Of the 11 developed countries and territories covered in the study, only New Zealand scored above average in our index. Who knew the Kiwis were living in the last well-appointed bungalow in a run-down neighbourhood?
A REJECTION OF THE TRUTH
Despite the long-standing evidence from even before our study, we are witnessing a level of denialism, with some commentators suggesting that the scores do not reflect the best route ahead. The wealthier nations, they argue, just need the time to organise their resources in response to such an unprecedented event. Once this happens, they claim, public opinion will soon shift. Yet the most recent polling in nearly all of these countries indicates that perceptions have actually deteriorated further.
Japan and France, for example, scored the lowest in our study, and public opinion in both countries remains anaemic. Yet the responses from these countries hardly feel like outliers. South Korea, which scored fourth lowest in our study, even voted overwhelmingly to reelect a president during the crisis. So in all likelihood, the scores reflect more than simple antagonism towards political leaders. Something else is going on.
Flaws laid bare: South Korea, which scored fourth lowest in the study that measured citizen sentiments, even voted overwhelmingly to reelect a president in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis. —
On the other end, some argue that the countries that scored well are often authoritarian and have leaned on state-controlled media to the extent that their people tell pollsters everything is hunky-dory. While their media diet can have some influence in what people tell pollsters, it does not tell the full picture. Singapore, Thailand and even Iran are all dominated by state media, yet none of them recorded stellar results in our study. Barking up the propaganda tree only gets you so far.
Two months on, the vulnerability expressed in our study by people in advanced countries largely remains. It also appears to fit a continuum that has been developing for some time now: the belief and confidence that unravelled after World War II and peaked with the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, but was rock solid by the end of the 20th century.
TIME TO SET THINGS RIGHT
The rich global disillusionment reflected so obviously in our poll, as well as in others conducted during the current crisis, has not arisen out of nowhere. It demonstrates a real sense that all is not right. The emotional mindset also goes well beyond anger. There is a growing realisation that political and business leaders are short on long-term answers, and “community” is now a term more likely associated with social media than social cohesion.
What this crisis has done more than anything else is expose the real flaws and weaknesses that have been emergent in advanced countries for many years. The scab has been peeled off, and the wound is worse than we thought.
The findings of our study reveals something pertinent: It is time for developed nations to truly reflect on the way forward. The idea that those living in successful, advanced countries can look forward to perpetual advancement is no longer a given. More and more people are coming to comprehend this. The present crisis, more than all the other recent ones, has laid this bare.
With that, confidence can only be regained through new ideas and action. Developed countries need to agree on a new approach to managing the future and a fresh compact with the rest of the world. As with a major war, Covid-19 has left everyone with heavy losses, and now is the time to acknowledge that simply trying to paper over long-standing flaws (that are much worse than most have been prepared to concede) is not going to offer either stability or hope
These could include rethinking the global institutional framework – whether it is for trade, health, finance or even technology. Countries also need to reconstitute and develop new forums to include a more diverse representation of key global stakeholders. In the same way leaders have been forced to address changing attitudes and demands on race and gender in recent years, they now need to expand this change of approach to society itself.
So, it turns out once again that the apocalypse is not nigh. People too often confuse end times with a reshuffling of the order. Those who have enjoyed sitting in the premium seats for a long time will have to pay more for them or give them up altogether.
By David Black, the founder of Blackbox Research, a Singapore-based research agency and data content specialist, mainly covering national and regional opinion across Asia. David has lived in Singapore for the past 20 years
As R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe sang, “It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.” – The Jakarta Post/Asia News NetworkThe writer is founder and CEO of Blackbox Research, a data-driven content and research agency based in Singapore that primarily covers national and regional public opinion. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.
Flaws laid bare: South Korea, which scored fourth lowest in the study that measured citizen sentiments, even voted overwhelmingly to reelect a president in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis. — 
