In terms of reputation, Pakatan Rakyat seems to have exclusive claim over a free press and free speech these days. This perception has to be dismantled quickly if we wish not to escape a lie only to fall into another lie.

Pakatan Rakyat — especially DAP and PKR — rightly deserves the association with free speech. The Barisan Nasional government unabashedly uses state apparatus to suppress free speech guaranteed by the constitution, with the components of Pakatan Rakyat being the victims of this suppression, particularly before March 8 unravelled its chapter.

There has been some liberalisation since thanks to the persistent struggle for greater freedom by many. The Barisan Nasional government still abuses state apparatus but the threat posed by them has receded significantly, ushering a new era of a freer Malaysia. Much is to be done but clearly, we are seeing a more liberal climate for us all to enjoy.

While enjoy we will, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

The clear and present threats to free speech — suppressive laws, litigation and coercion for instance — are always identifiable without much effort. One that is less obvious is when those with the reputation as advocates of free speech start to use that reputation to their advantage with a detrimental effect to others.

With the Pakatan Rakyat component members finding themselves in power in five state, they too are susceptible to such abuse, betraying the principle which they are associated with. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

One can despise free market philosophy all they want but the safest bet one can make is that we all have our own interests and we do promote those interests to our own benefits. The fact that liberals understand this is what makes liberalism so successful compared to any of its rivals up to date.

It is simply human nature and other systems fail because they try to impose idealism made in the heavens rather than work with reality on the ground for the advancement of humanity.

Those in Pakatan Rakyat are no different in terms of having and promoting their self-interest.

There is nothing wrong in having self-interest and promoting it. It is self-interest that has brought humanity tremendous wealth and knowledge unmatched at any point in the past. What is wrong is when that self-interest is pursued in a way that violates others' right, including the right to free speech and the maintenance of free press.

Despite their association with free press and free speech, the component members of Pakatan Rakyat lately have shown a worrying tendency of barring journalists from news organisations unsympathetic to their politics.

DAP sued Utusan Malaysia and a few others about a satire; the satire is distasteful, no argument about that but it is clearly only a satire, no matter how provocative it is. In Kelantan, the PAS-controlled state assembly barred Berita Harian from its premises due to unkind reports.

And who can forget Zulkifli Nordin of PKR who stormed into a forum demanding it to be halted; he has yet to be punished by PKR for what he did.

All these discourage free speech and free press and therefore competition of information. In the past, supporters of Barisan Nasional were derided as believing in their own lies. At the moment, I am beginning to see supporters of Pakatan Rakyat believing in their own lies.

The best example was when Anwar Ibrahim claimed that there was a capital flight after the World Bank released a report showing FDI outflow overtook FDI inflow, when, in fact, the truth of the matter was that rather than capital invested in Malaysia flowing out, Malaysian firms are investing aboard.

The case of Teresa Kok claiming she was intentionally and maliciously mis-attributed by Utusan Malaysia when in fact she did say what Utusan Malaysia reported is yet another example. Only that in this episode, free speech caused her to back-paddle.

Some DAP supporters defended Kok only to suffer embarrassment when Kok found herself in an impossible situation to deny it. Without competition of information sources, Kok may not have apologised and may have gotten away with it.

As for me, I am unwilling to live in a lie after escaping from one. I am only interested in securing my liberty and not the self-interest of politicians from either Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.

I am not entirely sure if some in Pakatan Rakyat believe in fair competition. Increasingly, it seems that they believe in fair competition only when the odds are against them. When in power, the ideal of liberty is conveniently thrown out of the window.

The antidote to this is the encouragement and maintenance of competition of news outlets. Any effort to limit competition should be viewed with utmost suspicion and nothing less.