Zunar Sends Along The Text To His International Press Freedom Award Speech

The cartoonist Zunar sent along the speech he gave upon receiving the International Press Freedom Award. Zunar has been facing an inordinate degree of focused harassment from authorities for political work that seems to all rational viewpoints pointed, poignant that in no way crosses the line anywhere near the public danger claimed for it. According to the e-mail, the ceremony was November 24.

His speech:

Thank you very much for this award.

I'm so happy to be here tonight to accept this and not in a jail somewhere in Malaysia.

I would like to dedicate this award to the Malaysians who have equally pushed for reform.

It is both my responsibility and my right as a citizen to expose corruption, wrongdoing and injustices. Laws like the Sedition Act mean that drawing cartoons is a crime since the Sedition Act is a criminal act.

The government of Malaysia is a cartoon government; a government of the cartoon, by the cartoon, for the cartoon -- sorry Abraham Lincoln.

For asking people to laugh at the government, I was handcuffed, detained, thrown into the lock up. But I kept laughing and encouraging people to laugh with me. Why? Because laughter is the best form of protest.

My mission is to fight through cartoon.

Why pinch when you can punch? People need to know the truth and I will continue to fight through my cartoons.

I want to give a clear message to the aggressors -- they can ban my cartoons, they can ban my books, but they cannot ban my mind.

I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink.

As always, we hope for the best outcomes for Zunar as he continues to face charges, perhaps most significantly the sedition charges related to tweets from earlier this year. His persistence and eloquence in the face of adversity are admirable.
 
posted 3:29 pm PST | Permalink
 

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