NST Leader: Navigating together for a cohesive future

New Straits Times

28-06-2025

Social cohesion may be a modern phrase, but it is an ancient idea of a solution for a fragmented world.
The old world struggled to create what an old African tradition calls an "I am because we are" cohesiveness; ours, too, is struggling. Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah offered four guiding principles to build the cohesive societies we yearn for in his keynote address titled "Navigating Uncertainty" to the 3rd International Conference on Cohesive Societies in Singapore on Wednesday.
But first, a few words on "three interlocking factors" that fuel uncertainty and challenge social cohesion.
One is the paradox of digital societies, a challenge that the world of old never faced.
Call it a modern rising tide of uncertainty, to borrow the royal phraseology.
Why paradox? Well, we are the most connected and yet disconnected at the same time. Think digital echo chambers.
Here is Sultan Nazrin's take: "Our digital spaces which should be so good at opening doors and minds, are instead responsible for closing them." Hate speech is an example.
The second is international migration. While migration is as old as humanity, never has it occurred in such numbers as people search for safety, opportunity and dignity.
In 25 years, according to an estimate by the United Nations, one eighth of humanity will be migrants, escaping climate change, conflict, economic and political instability at home.
Sultan Nazrin put it best: "These forces are rewriting the geography of human life." Finally, the uneven economic impacts of globalisation.
The sultan acknowledges the "immense benefits" of globalisation between countries, but within them it has been "one of winners and losers".
A tough one to disagree with. Losing out is a common story in a world made for, and perhaps even by, the richest one per cent.
In the words of Sultan Nazrin, "extremes of inequality enabled the ultra-rich to fund political influence through lobbying, political financing and their control of traditional and social media." A spade is finally being called a spade.
So what does it mean to wisely navigate uncertainty? That is the royal question. It means following four guiding principles.
Firstly, rebuild trust by reinvesting in the social contract. This requires "transparent institutions, accountable leadership, and civic spaces where people feel seen and heard".
Secondly, prioritise equity. This can only happen when "social, economic and ecological justice" is "at the heart of policy".
Justice seldom gets spoken like this. To Sultan Nazrin, equity isn't just about disparities among people, but also about imbalances between people and the planet.
Yes, close human gaps but don't forget to heal our relationship with the planet. That is the royal advice.
Thirdly, embrace pluralism. Some may misunderstand this to mean a call for uniformity.
Envisaging this, the sultan is quick to point out that "social cohesion does not demand uniformity". What it requires, though, is respectful accommodation of diversity and perspectives, the sultan contends.
Not unlike the purpose of human creation: to get to know each other despite our differences.
Finally, imagine boldly. It is a royal call for inclusion, from education to policymaking.
Perhaps it is best to end with Sultan Nazrin's magnanimous advice: "Hold space for difference without surrendering to division." We could not have put it better.