Sultan Nazrin outlines four principles for navigating uncertain times

New Straits Times

2 days ago

SINGAPORE: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, has outlined four guiding principles for the international community and governments to navigate increasingly complex and uncertain times.
These principles encompass rebuilding trust, prioritising equity, embracing pluralism, and bold imagination.
In his keynote address at the 3rd International Conference on Cohesive Societies, Sultan Nazrin said the world was being tested by an "overwhelming, sometimes frightening, interplay of conditions" that whip up a "perfect storm".
Sultan Nazrin said further fuelling this uncertainty are digital transformation, the dynamics of human migration, and the uneven economic impacts of globalisation.
"We live in the most connected era in human history. Over five billion people now have access to the internet. Digital platforms shape public discourse and private thought.
However, this "relentless digitalisation" has led to digital spaces becoming battlefields as algorithms trap people in echo chambers, feeding prejudice, which results in fragmentation.
He said this, in turn, leads to the rise in online hate, the spread of conspiracy theories, the propagation of extremist ideologies, and even violence, like the race riots in the United Kingdom last year.
On migration, Sultan Nazrin said more people were migrating for various reasons, from climate change, conflict, and economic and political instability, at a faster rate than host countries can adapt.
"Sudden demographic changes can trigger backlash, especially in communities that are unused to diversity. Extremist voices love to claim that multiculturalism has failed.
Sultan Nazrin also spoke on inequality, with wealth and power heavily concentrated in the top 1 per cent, a situation that worsened during the pandemic.
"So, what can we do as a global community? We must work together to find homes for those who have lost theirs and try to help alleviate the strain on countries that are overwhelmed. We must be welcoming to those we can accommodate.
"And we must strive to tackle the root causes that drive people from their homes in the first place."
At a national level, Sultan Nazrin said governments must work harder to foster inclusion and integration and to build harmony and understanding between diverse communities.
Sultan Nazrin said social cohesion is built from the ground up, from small interactions and shared experiences.
"What, then, is the core foundation to foster this trust? I believe a core foundation of social cohesion is to be a good neighbour."
Four guiding principles
On navigating the challenges, Sultan Nazrin spoke on the four principles he proposed.
He said rebuilding trust requires reinvesting in social contracts through transparent institutions, accountable leadership, and civic spaces where people feel seen and heard.
"Rebuilding trust means investing in media literacy, digital integrity, and honest communication, not just control."
The second principle, prioritising equity, involves placing social, economic, and ecological justice at the heart of policy.
Sultan Nazrin said embracing pluralism, the third principle, requires respectful accommodation of diverse culture, religion, identity and origin, as well as social and political perspectives.
Lastly, Sultan Nazrin called for bold imagination in the form of vision.
"Education must equip people to think critically and act ethically. Cities must be designed for inclusion. And policy must be guided by moral imagination."
Sultan Nazrin said navigating "uncharted waters" demands resilience, reinvention, collaboration and collective courage.
"Good leadership is not the art of prediction. It is the practice of moral clarity in the face of ambiguity.
"It is the strength to hold space for difference without surrendering to division. It is, simply, to captain the ship – to steady the course in uncertain seas – and to ensure no one is left behind."