This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 1, 2018 - October 7, 2018

This is not an easy time to be a liberal. Those who believe in freedom and in equality for all are constantly being tested, not only by the non-believers but also by self-proclaimed believers.

A recent case in point is PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks about “super liberals”. According to media reports, Anwar urged Malaysians to rise up and defend themselves against the emergence of super liberals.

He alleged that these days, super liberals were of the view that only their opinions mattered and had to be followed. He did not name anyone in particular when he spoke at a Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka function.

He cited the example of how he had been attacked by the group for engineering the Port Dickson by-election, even after all the suffering that he had gone through in the past.

Anwar, who will contest the by-election on Oct 13, is seeking to make his political comeback after receiving a royal pardon for his sodomy conviction.

Apparently, his remarks did not sit well with many liberals, among them, the outspoken lawyer-activist Siti Kasim. She slammed Anwar for his comments about super-liberals, saying they were people who protected the rights of individuals, including those accused of sodomy.

In a Facebook post, Siti said she could not find a definition of “super liberals”. She, however, surmised that they are people who especially care about the rights of individuals.

“You think being a super liberal is something to be ashamed of and it is a crime?” asked Siti, who had criticised Anwar and PKR over the resignation of the Port Dickson MP to allow the former deputy prime minister to return to parliament.

The current spat between Anwar and Siti has, in a way, highlighted the ongoing debate over “intolerant liberals”. Although many liberals may think they are tolerant, they are often not. Fareed Zakaria, who hosts a show on CNN, Fareed Zakaria GPS, attributes it to what he calls "an anti-intellectualism" on the left. In his words, “It's an attitude of self-righteousness that says we are so pure, we're so morally superior, we cannot bear to hear an idea with which we disagree."

Indeed, this was precisely what Anwar took exception to when he slammed super liberals for insisting that only their opinions mattered and had to be followed.

In this regard, liberals need to be reminded of the origins of their ideology. In 1859, when governments around the world were still deeply repressive — banning books, censoring commentary and throwing people in jail for their beliefs — John Stuart Mill explained in his seminal work, On Liberty, that protection against governments was not enough. “There needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose ... its own ideas and practices ... on those who dissent from them,” he wrote.

It must, however, be clear from the outset that the word liberal in this context has nothing to do with today's partisan language, but refers to its Latin root pertaining to liberty. And, at the heart of liberty has always been freedom of speech, which is a principal pillar of modern democracy. Unfortunately, countries around the world, including in the US, are undermining their democratic systems by limiting or even threatening journalists and media organisations critical of the government.

In Malaysia, press freedom and freedom of speech have become elusive ideals over the decades as law after law was passed to suppress opposing views, and state-controlled media was cowed into toeing the line.

Then came the unexpected groundswell that took place on May 9, giving hope that Malaysians could now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ironically, they are looking to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad — the same leader blamed for tightening the space for press freedom and freedom of expression during his 22-year reign as the fourth prime minister — to free a shackled press.

In any debate on censorship and freedom of speech, we should bear in mind the famous words of English philosopher John Milton: “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties”. In fact, any form of authority is no guarantee of truth if such authority is not tested. Again, at the heart of liberty has always been freedom of speech to check and balance the authority or powers that be.

In the new Malaysia, it is still not easy to be a liberal for liberalism continues to be blamed for all sorts of wickedness — from sexual immorality to high treason. Yet, many now realise that without freedom of speech and a dynamic, free and independent media, we do not have a free and healthy functioning democracy.

Hence, defending liberals is actually defending a free and healthy functioning democracy.

Khaw Veon Szu, a former executive director of a local think tank, is a practising lawyer. Opinions expressed in this article are his personal views.

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