Everyone should be a liberal

A couple of years ago, I met a caricature artist in Central Market, Kuala Lumpur. While framing the artwork I ordered, he initiated a conversation.

“I also do portraits. All the portraits you see here are mine,” he said.

I looked around. There were portraits of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Abdul Razak.

“You like drawing politicians, I see.”

He laughed. “You know lah, everyone talks about politics these days.”

“So who do you support? Mahathir, Anwar or Najib?” I asked.

The man glanced at me before hammering nails into the back of the frame.

“Are you a Muslim?” he then asked.

“Yes. I am.”

“Who do you support?” he asked again, returning the question back to me.

“I think at this point, it’s not about who to support, it’s more about who not to support,” I answered in all honesty.

“I agree with you,” he said. “There is more at stake than simply choosing sides to support.”

“Yes, there are a lot of issues and scandals in our country which need to be resolved if we wish to see progress,” I concurred.

He laughed. “Let me guess. You definitely do not support Najib.”

“I don’t. And you?”

Placing the hammer on the table, the caricaturist turned around, leaned against his work table and replied, “Like I said, there is more at stake than simply picking sides. I understand why you don’t support Najib. With corruption scandals painted all over him, I am sure there are many like you who cannot wait to get rid of him.

“But we must understand, getting rid of Najib also means accepting the opposition who might want different things for Malaysia. Imagine Islam as the official religion of the country being challenged, non-Muslims freely preaching their religion, and young Muslims easily denouncing Islam. As it is, the opposition is already freely condemning many things Islamic in our country!”

“So you support Najib?” I asked.

“I don’t, but as a Muslim, I believe it is more important that we do not support people who could jeopardise the status of Islam as the official religion of our country,” he explained.

I felt the urge to respond.

“I think freedom is a very Islamic concept be it freedom of religion, freedom of expression or freedom of speech. However, if there is one thing that is not Islamic, it has to be corruption. So as Muslims, if we want to uphold Islam as the official religion of our country, I think we have to reject those who have tainted our country with corruption.”

Both of us smiled at each other. We accepted and embraced each other’s different school of thought.

After all, we were both liberals.

Who are the liberals?

Many seem to perceive liberals as self-righteous egotists who lecture, judge and have disdain for others who do not agree with them. This is untrue.

Liberals are people with views. Liberals are people who choose to voice out their concerns based on their views instead of keeping their lips sealed.

Some liberals believe in freedom of sexual orientation, thus support LGBTs. Some liberals believe in freedom of matrimony, thus support child marriage.

Some liberals believe in combating corruption. Some liberals believe in upholding religion at whatever cost.

Everybody believes in something. And everybody believes in the freedom of voicing out what they believe in. So technically, everyone with strong views and concerns is a liberal. The only difference is that some are more liberal than others.

And the thing is, it is okay to have views and concerns regarding the things we believe in even if it contradicts with the views and concerns of the majority. Likewise, it is also okay to agree with the views and concerns of the majority.

Liberals are not people with so much free time in hand who go around looking for things to criticise and protest about. Liberals are people who genuinely care for the well-being of society.

There are so many issues in our country today from flaws in our education system to issues concerning the lack of human rights. And those pushing our government to address all these issues are none other than the liberals.

Liberals may believe and support different views, even contradicting each other. But liberals are not racists. And liberals are not bigots. Liberals are intelligent and concerned citizens who are able to accept and embrace different views in a matured way while continuing to stand firmly for what they believe in.

In order to build a matured society which is committed to creating a better Malaysia, we need people who have strong views and concerns about our nation. And we need people who will urge our leaders to listen to their views and concerns. These people are none other than the liberals.

What Malaysia does not need at this point (as a matter of fact, at any point) are those who have no views, no concerns and who are not committed in restructuring the country into a better nation. Malaysia does not need people who do not wish to take part in contributing to the country. Malaysia does not need non-liberals.

We are all liberals

Before the 14th general election, we saw many attempts to silence the liberal voices who were adamant in provoking the people to get rid of the corrupt regime.

And today, after successfully kicking out the corrupt regime from Putrajaya, we continue hearing voices depicting liberals as if they are the enemy of our New Malaysia.

Our Rukun Negara clearly states that every citizen of Malaysia should be dedicated to achieving greater unity; maintaining a democratic way of life; creating a just society; ensuring a liberal approach to cultural diversity and building a progressive society.

In other words, according to the Rukun Negara which we hold close to our hearts, each and every one of our 32 million citizens should be liberals.

If you think about it, every leader should be thankful to have liberals as followers. They may not all be very accomplished, intelligent or gifted but liberals share a strong sense of patriotism and are emotionally connected to the well-being of the people and the nation hence fulfilling their roles as good citizens.

Yes, liberals are assets to the country. But oddly though, liberals are always made to feel they are liabilities.

Why?

I have no answer to that. But what I do know, is that Malaysia needs liberals to progress. And leaders who tell us otherwise should keep in mind that we liberals do not give up that easily.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. -Mkini