People should be allowed to hold onto ‘silly’ ideas including bigotry and racism, argued Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat.

He said that people throughout history have held onto various ideas that turned out to be wrong, but if suppressed, these ideas would merely go underground and would not go away.

It is more important, he said, discussions are kept open so that people can debate these ideas.

“What we need to promote our larger self-interest is to allow the bigots, the racists, the extremists, to make the best out of it, for people can be convinced why living together is in the best interest of everyone,” he told a forum on freedom in Petaling Jaya today.

He added that if society if ‘dumb enough’ to buy into the idea of racism, then it deserves the politics and government that come as a consequence.

However, Wong also warned that while racism is not a threat to freedom, the violence and the threat of violence such as those associated with racism is a threat.

“Violence is the same thing that bad, authoritarian governments derive its power from.

“Violence is the antithesis of reason, because if you use your fist, you do not need to use your brain,” he said.

Special position first to go

The political scientist added that if one were to ban racism outright, Article 153 of the Federal Constitution that deals with the special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak would be the first to go.

This is not helpful, he said, as Article 153 is part of the political reality that Malaysians live in.

Likewise, he said, if Umno is to be banned, there is no telling how many other groups would similarly be banned and how much freedom of association would need to be curtailed.

Wong said he would prefer that all these issues, including Article 153, to be open to questioning and debate.

“I would rather that all these things to be in the open and to be questioned. If society is dumb enough to buy into racism, then they deserve the government and the politics they have.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think that the idea is for liberals to advocate for some sort of utopian group. But rather to say, we all should get what we want. Eventually we will get what we wish for.

“What we need are informed decisions. We must defend people’s rights to make mistakes, to hold onto wrong decisions. The point is that no one should be protected from that,” he said.

Currently, it is an offence under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948 to question the provisions under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.