Freedoms in the Anwar era

DECEMBER 22 — The prime minister sues the de facto leader of Perikatan Nasional, his direct opponent for national power.

Muhyiddin Yassin said things about Anwar Ibrahim in the lead up to election day — in one video specifically — which the PKR president feels is defamatory.

This is progress.

A court trial is good? In this case, yes.

Because it is civil. Because the PM is aggrieved and subsequently asks his lawyers to act, and not the security forces to intervene. Muhyiddin’s lawyers will respond accordingly.

Both ex-classmates, Anwar and Muhyiddin, can return to the business of leading the government or opposing it without further distractions. There are no requests for the defendant or interested parties to gather at any police station to record their statements related to the dispute.

That’s progress.

With 147 votes in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday last, and anti-hopping law present, this new Anwar government will likely last the whole term. As such, expectations grow.

While economic progress and stability are difficult to predict, and a fairer Malaysia subject to demography and how further can Pakatan negotiate terms with Barisan Nasional (BN) inside a grand coalition, a freer Malaysia is the PM’s prerogative, Anwar’s to lead.

And what freedoms can we expect in this new age?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gestures at reporters during a visit to the temporary flood relief centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Panglima Raja in Kelantan December 21, 2022. — Bernama pic

Lines of freedoms

The awesome thing about freedoms is they cost next to nothing to institute. But their effects reverberate through the centuries. They are the essence of advancement.

However, the government dropped the ball early when it went defensive on Sosma. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution feels time-limited detentions without cause are useful.

It’s always handy to have detention powers while deliberating or securing evidence but when it comes at the expense of liberty and exposed to the vagaries of those with authority, alarm bells must ring. A man in jail for a day on suspicion without grounds is a man in jail one day too long.

Then comes the lesser yet substantial fear of state intimidation. This has been too long the norm.

From day-long interviews at the balai to Special Branch officers attending press conferences or gatherings accompanied by digital surveillance, the eyes of the state caution “there may be consequences.” It tends to paralyse private citizens.

The state can literally stamp its foot on our faces.

Police take their cue from leadership, on how much surveillance, presence and cautions are necessary.

Speaking of leadership, our prime minister is intimately aware of selective prosecutions as he has twice been charged in court for crimes of a personal nature, one which very few other Malaysians have been charged with. Now, he can ensure the attorney-general's chamber has the people’s interest and not the leaders’ insecurities when they pursue prosecutions.

Illiberal policies are traditionally defended even when courts rule against them. They are appealed stage to stage, and when the Federal Court orders finally, the ministries or departments like the National Registration Department (NRD) utilise procedural excuses to slow things.

Case in point, the protracted effort to recognise Malaysian mothers as equals when it comes to their children born abroad without Malaysian fathers. Or Indira Gandhi’s wait to reunite with her child.

The prime minister can remind civil servants that the rakyat is not the enemy, it's their employer.

Which brings us to the juiciest part of freedoms -- the news, arts and expression.

Editors want freedom, a lot of it. They also realise the price when lines are crossed is too high, so they self-censor. Before censors act, like the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, the editors hold back sensibly.

Anwar being the recipient of brave reporting, not because the reporters love him but they are dedicated to the news, should return the favour. Ask both Saifuddin and Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil to hold back and let this government herald an age of openness unparalleled in our history.

At the tip of political expression is satire. Fahmi Reza or Zunar or the rest — funny or not — do not want accolades, they leave them to the unremarkable who crave to lengthen their names to look intelligent or worthy. In fact, they rather themselves be parodied or even ridiculed because irreverence guarantees nothing or no one is deified.

Fahmi, the minister not the satirist, is probably the first actor to helm a ministry in the country. Hues of Midnight Oil’s Peter Garett who had a turn as an Australian minister. Fahmi has an amazing chance to free his own people, artists.

The omniscient Lembaga Penapisan Filem (LPF-Film Censorship Board) is under Saifuddin not Fahmi but the latter can get his party colleague to ease up.

Artistic licence might unlock the passion, creativity and output from our next generation of content creators. Whether culturally, sexually or religiously shocking, it is time for us as a nation to grow up and join what is par for the course worldwide.

Which leads to a discussion about social events, from bands to festivals. In bars and stadiums. Do these bands have to pass a local test as set by the ministry or can organisers have more leeway?

The PM has cancelled state-sponsored New Year celebrations to respect flood victims but would he insist private hosts postpone their events as well? There is a difference, and in that difference an appreciation of diversity and not to compel submission from the masses.

The nature tone

Malaysia’s repressions have outlived generations of Malaysians. The present generation is better served not to live those repressions.

There are consistent themes in these liberty pursuits.

That in personal spaces, choices should be devoid of state intrusions.

Never more in human history people place a premium on the right to be without interference. Between elections, citizens vote with their feet.

It is about state insecurities and how power sits with dissent. Danny Lim’s We are Marching Now recounts the people and events behind Bersih’s birth on November 10, 2007 — makes a meaningful Christmas gift. It also shows how dissent strikes fear in the powerful.

It is finally about encouraging a culture of individual growth regardless of state propaganda. It wows to know the number of films the British Lottery supports which is overly critical of the British government.

Expression is not supposed to be easy nor convenient. It challenges norms and it questions our own pillars.

If it happens that freedoms are hoisted rather than frowned upon, Malaysia certainly changes its present trajectory. From one of despondency to an age of optimism.

Raising the spectre of unsurpassed economic growth, independence and joy.

But the ball is in Anwar’s court. Every speech, every story he tells between now and the end of his administration will dictate the tone of the country long after his term when it comes to individual and community freedoms.

Anwar always refers to Nelson Mandela for inspiration and guidance. Then it is best to end with Madiba’s own words: For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.