.png)
By Paige Brewer (Class of 2015)
Last week the Center for Asian Democracy hosted a political cartoonist named Zunar, whose drawings have been banned by the Malaysian government due to their controversial and critical nature. Though the freedom of speech is constitutionally legal, the government is extremely sensitive to any published work that speaks out against its practices. Zunar was arrested for sedition because his cartoons addressed topics such as government corruption, suppression of speech and the Prime Minister’s wife, an allegedly extravagant spender of taxpayer money.
Zunar had many interesting things to say that not only helped the audience learn more about Malaysian politics and way of life but also offered an interesting insight into our own government systems. The following are some of the gems.
“Talent is not a gift. It’s an obligation—a responsibility. I don’t use it for my own benefit—I do it for my people. I will use this as a weapon. There is a very thin line between cartoonist and terrorist.”
“Malaysian government is a cartoon government: of cartoon, by cartoon, for cartoon. I hope Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t mind me saying that.”
“You can ban my book, you can ban my cartoon, but you cannot ban my mind.”
(In response to the police, who arrested Zunar for sedition due to the publication of his book of cartoons titled Pirates of the Carry-BN)
“I want to send a clear message to Malaysia. The fight through cartoon is a fight for democracy. The fight through cartoon is a fight for freedom. The fight through cartoon is a fight for the future of our children…If they want to stop me, they need to stop the flow of ink to Malaysia.”
“Malaysia is an insecure government. The ruling party only received 47% of popular vote in the last election…And when you are insecure, everything is threatening.”
“Don’t look so serious—this is cartoon work.”
Paige Brewer is a Junior McConnell Scholar from Campbell County. Brewer is studying Political Science.