This is the first episode of the Wawancara Hari Kebangsaan 2005 series. Amongst the bloggers and activists who blog, replies from Fathi Aris Omar of Patah Balek, Ong Boon Keong of Malaysia Voters Union, Rajan Rishyakaran of the self-titled blog Rajan Rishyakaran, Zulhabri Supian of Komentar Rakyat Biasa, Tauke Fooji of Warung Ikan Bakar, Emmanuel Joseph of My Daily Dread, Sharizal Sharaani of Perpetual Permutating Perceptions, Poli of Politics Malaysia 101, Nurul Izzah Anwar and David Teoh of David the Katana have been received. Therefore, the everyone’s reply will be compiled alongside each question, and be published here from today.


Tunku Abdul Rahman mengisytiharkan kemerdekaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu di Stadium Merdeka pada 31 Ogos 1957.

Shin : The British have left the country for 48 years, but many of their policies including the notorious Internal Security Act (ISA), divide and rule, restrictions on mother tongue education are still largely intact. In the aspects of press freedom and local election, it’s much worse than it was 48 years ago. In your opinion, are we truly independent ?

Fathi : I guess the issue is becoming cliché, almost every year we ask and argue the same question – for instance, “are we independent”? [laughing] We have to recognise a simple fact that a democracy (or, politics in any country) is a complex, dynamic process. So if you have already achieved a comparatively freer political setting, it does not necessarily last long.

If you study the history of post-colonial Burma and the Philippines, you can see such dynamics. If you look at Indonesia’s post-Soeharto democracy, it will appear to you that a democracy is relative.

I am not an apologetic to Malaysian current state of political affairs now, but we can say that freedom has to be fought for over and over. It is not static, ‘given’ once and for all! Democracy, even when it is practised democratically, can have paradoxes, problems and contradictions. See Frank Cunningham’s The Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction (2003).

BK : Actually the ISA, divide and rule, restrictions on mother tongue education are worse now than before -after eg ISA had been amended 20 time over ! Just like press freedom and local government election. The people are not independent -but the state -in terms of political force running the country, is formally independent. The people need to win independence in our own name.

Rajan : No. But don’t blame the British. The Americans got rid of the British to establish the longest-lasting constitution with a democratic republican government that improves by year. We?

Habri : Berhubung persoalan sama ada kita sudah merdeka sepenuhnya atau tidak, jawapan saya sudah pastilah belum walaupun kita sudah merasai sebahagian nikmat kemerdekaan. Namun bagi saya definasi merdeka ini sangat berbeza pada setiap rakyat negara kita, bergantung kepada mana pemahaman dan lingkungan persekitaran mereka.

Namun saya juga ingin menegaskan bahawa kita wajib menghargai nikmat kemerdekaan ini walaupun ianya masih belum cukup sempurna. Bayangkan jika nikmat yang tidak sempurna langsung tidak ada? Tetapi itu bukan bermakna perjuangan untuk menuntut kemerdekaan yang tulen diketepikan dan saya ingin tegaskan di sini bahawa usaha mencapai ‘kemerdekaan kedua’ seperti matlamat meluaskan proses demokrasi ini amat penting untuk difahami dan diperjuangkan oleh rakyat Malaysia. Itu juga tidak bermakna jika sudah dicapai ia akan berakhir di situ kerana proses demokrasi itu tidak statik sifatnya.

Fooji : Can we say that Tanah Melayu, without the intervention via the colonisation, would have ended up much worse in terms of social rights and distribution of wealth? I think we are truly independent from British rule, but not yet independent from regressive views and blind loyalty, and disrespect towards human rights.

Emmanuel : No, we are not.The only way we can truly be independent are if minds are liberated and ALL barriers posed by colonial rule is broken.This includes poverty, uneducation, malnourishment, racial/religious extremism, and any other form of people-herding.

Sharizal : This is a double edged question. In one hand we have achieved so much during the first 48 years many of us do question why can’t we achieve more especially with regards to the question that you have just asked.

On the other hand, as a country of 48 years we are still young in our formative years and it is during such times is where we face ups and downs of joys and tribulations like any growing country.

But we must not loose direction or faith to what we believe that is right for our country and equally important to fight for it within the limits that is present in this country.

Sometimes when we fight for something that we believe what is right we forget that we do trample on the other rights of many other people who have a different preference to what is important. In order to be fair to this bigger, silent majority, one must be fair…

Poli : Over the years I have heard a few non-Malays saying we may be better off if we were still a British colony. I can never subscribe to that line of thought. I think many have mistaken merdeka for freedom. Being independent does not equate to being more free. Malaysia isn’t the only victim of continued divide-and-rule policies. Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and the Middle East are very good examples of how the fallout from such policies are still impacting on society.

I cannot really fault the government for keeping intact laws like the ISA, and putting together more oppressive ones like the Official Secrets Act and Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 because the BN takes each new mandate it gets at every election as a thumbs-up by the public for a job well done. In many ways that’s absolutely true because many of those who grumble are also those who either didn’t bother to vote or they voted for the BN. I believe it’s well documented that one of the govt’s fiercest critics in the “intellectual” world admitted he didn’t bothered to cast a vote until 1999!

Nurul Izzah : There are of course many facets to the meaning of Malaysian
independence. I would not disagree with the fact that we have been physically freed from our former British counterparts. But yes, with the continuing implementation of their outdated and archaic policies and laws, we are truly at a loss.

The slow erosion of the Election Commission, which was more independent in the late 60s compared to this moment in time helped to deny our rights for a more credible, fair and free election. Of course an ombudsman always acts to ensure there is greater representation from the locals, hence empowering each citizen even more. We have a long way from being truly independent. It has a lot to do with a battle in our minds, as much as the realization of a true democratic nation. I think Azly Rahman’s article, entitled “Merdeka! But are we totally free“, sums it pretty well.

David : When we look at the original intention of laws like the ISA, we see it was established in good faith and not an instrument to ‘curb’ independence. Every once in a while, we must look back and see if some of the archaic laws we made are still relevant today. Independence should not be equated with freedom. Independence means the people of this country taking the lead in determining the course of the nation’s future. However it seems to be an Asian thing where preservation of the peace takes precedence over the freedom of expression. We need time to grow out of it. We are very much a 3rd world country, regardless of what the politicians may say. A maturity that goes along with freedom of expression is not present in our society as yet.