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General Attitude Towards Liberalism in Malaysia

91% want the Rule of Law and 84% believe that democracy with free and fair elections would be best for Malaysia.

----- 84% agree that freedom should only be limited by responsibility to not harm others and not to infringe on their freedoms.

----- 65% accept and respect the way others live their lives, including LGBT, atheists and other minorities.

---- 76% believe that Malaysia is ready for freedom of speech and a free media.

----- 95% seem to reject affirmative action: They think the government should help the needy, irrespective of ethnicity.

----- 48% want an open market economy while 40% want the government to play a big role.

While most Malaysian subscribe to most liberal values, not many associate these values with Liberalism. In fact 48% have never heard about Liberalism and 76% say that they understand nothing or very little about it. Regarding some issues, illiberal attitudes prevail as 74% believe the government should control all citizens to protect cultures, values and traditions. 60% want the government to keep the draconian Sedition Act to guarantee peace and stability. These are the results of the first Liberalism-Survey in Malaysia.

Commissioned by FNF and the Think Tank IDEAS, the respected Merdeka Center interviewed 1.207 Malaysians last December. We will repeat the survey at the end of 2017, 2018 and 2019 to see whether knowledge and perception of Liberalism is changing in Malaysia.