Liberal Activism Bringing Incremental Change

There were two major objectives for the social gathering and networking at Bombay Palace in the evening of Saturday 17 June 2006. The first objective is to network with selected individuals and to inform them about the series of discussion programmes which will be further co-organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and Balairakyat aiming to promote grass-root awareness and people participation. The second objective is to host a talk given by two FNF representatives Ms. Gulmina Bilal from Pakistan and Mr. Adnan Huskic from Bosnia who visited Malaysia during that period to share their experiences and challenges advocating liberalism in their home countries.

Mr Huskic spoke first to introduce some of the efforts by FNF to promote liberalism in the Balkan region. He also shared case examples from Bosnia where democracy faces challenges from the highest level of government and the aspirations of Bosnia joining the EU accession talks in the future.

Ms Gulmina engaged the crowd by discussing the challenges she faces advocating liberalism and democracy in Pakistan where there is a substantial majority of conservative Islamists and in some extreme cases fundamentalists. While there is a growing middle class who is educated and liberal, she pointed out that they are apathetic to the system that governs their country.

A brief Q&A session ensued as the issues highlighted by the FNF representatives spurred further conversation among the participants that lasted throughout dinner. The participants also shared with each other their own/organisation’s endeavours and the challenges they faced locally. Invited participants represented various NGO’s, lobby groups as well as individuals from various corporate organizations.

On the whole, the networking was an accomplishment as it successfully brought together an interesting cross-section of individuals from various backgrounds. It sets the tone for future collaborations as these individuals take advantage of their networks and opportunities to promote activism in their local environment. The collaborative effort will form the building blocks of incremental change that will create a more democratic and liberal system of governance.

The follow up would be a series of seminars that will also be jointly organized by Balai Rakyat and FNF happening in July. More details to follow soon.

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