The Phnom Penh Post

Malaysian uses cartoons to protest

- Mike Ives

WHEN protesters disrupted an art exhibition by Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, a political cartoonist, at the George Town Literary Festival in Malaysia on Saturday, he assumed that the police would want his help identifyin­g those responsibl­e.

Instead, said Zulkiflee, who goes by the name Zunar, he was questioned by the police, detained for a day and informed that he was under investigat­ion for producing cartoons that purportedl­y defamed Prime Minister Najib Razak.

It was not the first time Zulkiflee, who already faces nine charges of sedition and is barred from leaving the country, has courted trouble with his pen. His cartoons frequently target Najib, who is accused of taking millions of dollars from a state investment fund. Najib has faced widespread calls to resign, most recently at an anticorrup­tion demonstrat­ion this month that drew tens of thousands in Kuala Lumpur, the capital.

In an interview, Zulkiflee, 54, discussed how social media has become an increasing­ly important channel for political dissent in Malaysia, and why he continues to use his art to investigat­e corruption and injustice without dwelling too much on the risks. express their view or protest. So now, social media is something that is a very effective tool. People are starting to be creative in social media by using drawings, cartoons, posters or video clips.

The government feels this is very dangerous for them, so they start to introduce laws. As an example, the Sedition Act was introduced by the British government in 1948. And in 2012, the prime minister made an open pledge to Malaysia that he would abolish the Sedition Act, live on TV. But he uses it more now, and it’s going to be strengthen­ed.

I’m facing so many laws, three laws have been used against me so far. But one thing I keep in my mind – one very, very important thing – is that the biggest enemy for anyone in the world is self-censorship. For me, talent is not a gift but a responsibi­lity. People ask, do I have fear? Yes, I have fear, I’m human. But responsibi­lity is bigger than fear. So I don’t want to really think what the government will do next to me.

I just concentrat­e on what I’m supposed to do. That can help me continue and draw more cartoons. If I start to think about law, I start to think about prison, I start to think about government action, I will definitely start to practise self-censorship – and this is no good. So I will draw as usual. You see that three laws, which I mentioned earlier, have been used against me. First is Sedition Act, second is penal code, third is Printing Presses and Publicatio­ns Act. I was chained with these laws – hand, neck and leg. But if you go to my shirt, you can see my philosophi­es there. Among them are ‘I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink’ and ‘How can I be neutral . . . even my pen has a stand’. So this drawing shows that even though there’s a law to stop me, even though there’s a regulation to stop me, even though they tried to ban my books – actually, not tried, they al- ready banned my book – I will keep drawing. That is why, without hands, I still use my mouth or my teeth to draw. This is to show the philosophy and determinat­ion to fulfill my duty as a cartoonist in Malaysia. You have to understand this is a politicall­y motivated charge, it’s got nothing to do with the law. In Malaysia, it’s very, very difficult for us with politicall­y motivated charges. You just need to look at what happened to the opposition leader’s case in Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim. Even though he had strong evidence and witnesses, it was political. It will be very difficult for us to fix that. But this is a very important case for me to create awareness around the world about the state of freedom of expression and human rights in Malaysia. I’m going to face it.

 ?? ZUNAR VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES ?? In an undated handout image provided by the artist, a cartoon which Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, the Malaysian political cartoonist, described as a self portrait. Zulkiflee, who goes by Zunar, faces charges of sedition and is barred from leaving the...
ZUNAR VIA THE NEW YORK TIMES In an undated handout image provided by the artist, a cartoon which Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, the Malaysian political cartoonist, described as a self portrait. Zulkiflee, who goes by Zunar, faces charges of sedition and is barred from leaving the...

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