Moderation is not enough, we need liberalism

It is funny how we always feel the need to learn from our elders. Sometimes I think that the tables need to be turned once in a while.

Children can teach us a thing or two about life, or simply remind us of the true state of being is one that is liberal.

Having to commute from Seremban to Kuala Lumpur often, the train is my primary mode of transportation. One would be surprised with the amount of conclusions about ourselves which can be drawn from observing the environment.

This time, I was unavoidably rather conscious of the extreme racialisation that has been echoed by politicians lately in the charge of a tremendous power struggle.

As disheartening as it was, a small incident lifted my spirits. I was seated next to a Chinese lady with her baby, and as I watched – everyone could not help but to coo and play with her regardless of race, in which the child was rather responsive.

I guess that should be a stoic reminder of how such evils towards one another are a result of corrupted ideals being indoctrinated into society for what obviously is an ulterior motive.

There are a lot of notions and prejudices that seem to plague our everyday lives and its subscription happens to be masked as a gesture of conforming to "societal norms".

In Malaysia though, racism and corruption seem to be made as the most central and problematic of all our discriminatory practices, but there are also many other stigmatized issues that do not have enough light shed on them. Be it sexism, class struggle, poverty, etc.

Such conflicts are inevitable in a diverse society (and also with institutional failures and bad governance).

However, in order for them to "co-exist" in spite of contradicting, there has to be a cultivation of tolerance and acceptance that can only exist when each one of us are willing to put aside our differences and open our eyes to the idea of a collective national identity.

Such sentiments cannot be forced upon us. Rather, its success can only be attained if we willingly embrace and until now, the global epidemic of achieving peace and stability in a plural society still poses a challenge of unifying and integrating people of different faiths and ethnicities.

In my belief, much of this stems from the ideological base which social policies are built on where "moderation" tends to supersede "liberalism".

Moderation would imply the avoidance of excessiveness or extremism in behaviour or opinion that is political in nature.

I supposed that the ideal society to some is one that believes in practising life in a moderate manner and never be aggressive in the contestation of ideas.

Evidently, it does not seem to truly preach the principle of individual liberty and a catapulting of intellectual freedom. Instead, it emphasises on this sort of mentality that the inclusivity that we want to encourage is rooted so heavily in an attitude of tolerance, rather than freely accepting the myriad of differences we come face to face every day.

My perspective on "moderation" could be wrong but I am of the opinion that this ideological base should not be looked at as a long term one, because it somewhat still connotes the possibility of existing tensions that will always prevail.

We should be looking towards creating a Malaysian society that is founded with the notion that everyone can freely express and profess their individual identities as they see fit – as long as it does not create injustice to others.

To impose a barrier on someone from practising free will does not only undermine human dignity, but seems like it does not allow the capacity for true empowerment either.

On the other hand, such values are promoted in the concept of social liberalism where our society can have a multitude of differences in the practice of culture and faith and to not have it judged as being "excessive" simply because it is heavily tainted for not subscribing to stereotypical modernism.

Also, it is most uplifting to have ourselves free from narrow moral judgement that could be borne out of ignorance and the compulsive need for self-righteousness – all these things are perversions that are resulted from the games of power.

Someday, I would like to envision our nation as one that is wholeheartedly united in the celebration of all shades of Malaysia and her face, which can only be made when we have all chosen to liberate ourselves from the need of what I would consider false senses of the optimistic human spirit.

Yet, being liberal is primarily demonized as being either "unIslamic" or just not in the Malaysian culture.

Our prime minister had even once said he rejects liberalism and that we should continue to strive for moderation. Unfortunately, this is indeed a peculiar departure from the culture of freedom that makes the origins of the nation.

I cannot help but to think that a "liberal Malaysia" is what the long term goal of this nation should be.

It was the intentions of our founding fathers for the Malaysian narrative that has been long forgotten.

It is a dream that is declared by the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Federal Constitution and strives to pave the way to a liberal society. Moderation – where did that come from? – September 24, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.