By Nabilah Athirah Mohamad
GOMBAK, 23 September 2018: With the change of government following recent 14th General Election that later saw a catchphrase œMalaysia Baharu, three panelists from different political parties shared their thoughts on the real meaning of the trending slogan, which has been highly associated with ˜freedom of expression for Malaysians.
Organised by Student Representative Council (SRC) IIUM, the forum held on Friday (21 September), focused on the role of peoples voice through criticism, dialogue and debate on nation building, especially among the youth towards a better Malaysia for everyone.
The forum was moderated by former President of SRC (session 2014/2015), Hanif Mahpa, who is also an NGO worker at Human Aid.
Representing the government, the Secretary of KEADILAN Youth Movement, Syukri Razab said: œOpenness is the future where we have to face instead of running away from it. We have to adapt to the future and instil the principles that we have been holding on to.”
“The rights to express our voice in a democratic country should have existed a long time ago. Even the new government has been receiving constructive criticism from outside and inside the party. The political culture of the new government is its commitment to uphold the practice of freedom.
Syukri also stressed that with freedom that emerged from post-election, university students today should act as a check and balance for the government and other political parties.
Head of Pas Youth (Strategy) who is also one of IIUM alumnus, Syahir Sulaiman, addressed the need for freedom in expressing thoughts based on revelation. He quoted Surah An-Nahl verse 125 where he said we are called upon to do good things through hikmah, advice and dialogue.
Syahir shared: œIn Islam, there are guidelines to criticise, debate and conduct dialogues which we should follow. As the foundation in building a nation, I agree that we should uphold the culture. However, we should keep the freedom to maintain peace and harmony which we enjoy today. In that sense, the politics of fear should be eliminated in order for us to practise freedom.”
“The politics of maturity and peace which PAS upholds recently illustrates that the party discourages confrontation which has been the nature of today’s politics. This is the culture that we expect to groom among the youth.
On the other side, UMNO Youth Deputy Chief, Shahril Hamdan, also agreed on the freedom of expression through criticisms, dialogues and debates. He said: œWe should not block the freedom with the issues of unnecessary sensitivity. The ˜taboos that Malaysians were afraid to discuss before are contributing to the politics of fear. Instead, these issues have to be openly discussed for people to be aware of.
While the freedom of expression seems to be a new practice for Malaysians, Shahril shared his thoughts on the restriction of freedom from the previous government. œFor the past 60 years of UMNO as the ruling party, I agreed that there were excessive restrictions. The past political nature does not suit the system that we practise in our country, which is democracy.
Shahril concluded his view: œThe concept of freedom of expression is for all regardless of their social status. This space of freedom is not only for those elites, but also for the rest of Malaysian citizens. The right of expressing our voice is not debatable at all. It is the fundamental right for all in a democratic country like Malaysia.
At the end of the forum, all the three panelists promised to be committed in preserving freedom of expression that the new Malaysia has brought upon for a better nation.
The panelists congratulated the organising committee for their courage in conducting the forum of that nature and also their ability to invite speakers to use their political titles. This shows that the change of Malaysias political climate has brought positive impact towards building the nation among youth, who use freedom in a matured and intellectual manner.
IIUM is expected to set a benchmark of the new Malaysias political culture with openness where political oriented nature of forum are allowed to be held in the campus peacefully.***