Liberal, Malay and Malaysian: Writings of a Walking Contradiction

by Zan Azlee

For some people, to be Liberal, Malay and Malaysian is to be a walking contradiction, to be pulled in more directions than your body can take. If you’re Malay you aren’t supposed to be liberal and of course you must be a Malay before you’re a Malaysian! Right? Not for Zan Azlee. In Liberal, Malay and Malaysian Zan passionately argues for a Malaysian and a Malay identity which moves beyond identity politics, fatwas, censorship and moral policing and which allows individuals to be who they want to be. Covering themes of politics, race, religion and protest, Zan records a nation in turmoil, caught between activism and apathy and counters this with an honest and open assessment of Malaysian life.

Zan Azlee is a journalist, writer and documentary filmmaker. In the past decade, he has been detained by the Lebanese army while attempting to cross the border into Syria, cowered under the bed of his hotel when he heard gunshots in Afghanistan, saved by protestors from concrete blocks thrown by police in Egypt, tear gassed by riot forces in Turkey and rescued by the police when he had leg cramps during a BERSIH demonstration in Kuala Lumpur.He has authored six books and made several documentaries that have been screened at various international and local film festivals and won awards at the Festival Filem Malaysia, Anugerah Seri Angkasa and Malaysian Video Awards. Follow his exploits on FATBIDIN.COM

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

199 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Maisarah Mohd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably, this book is a good source to reflect the situation in Malaysia during the pre and post 13th General Election. It is not a heavy reading materials, and somehow when I was reading certain parts of this book, I laugh out loudly! Haha...

Maybe some Malay-Muslim will not agree and maybe some will be angry with his opinions... but I found that most of the author's opinion make sense... And the best part that I love to read is, when our 55th Independence Day was being hijacked by the politician with the tagline 'Janji Ditepati'. Where is our patriotism when our Independence Day are filled with political sentiments?

Apart from the contents, I believed that the main concern of the author is to have a better Malaysia for our next generation...

[Mocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book pretty much tells you bout being a malay muslim in malaysia, and the reality i always heard from fellow friends in the peninsular. 
It makes me feel thankful that i was born n grew up in Borneo where as a Malay muslim, i rarely get weird questions. But of course racist is everywhere. the only racist moment I remember i had was during my boarding school, there's this malay muslim girl who's the only one questioned me which group (of race) do i really belong to - when seeing me lepaking with different groups (malay, ibanese, chinese). And i figured she came from a very religious family - parents were teachers. 
Back to the book, it is highly recommended to be read by Malaysians.

[Fuwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with opinion pieces by the author regarding four main concern [centerings around Malaysia]: Politics, race, religion and protest.

There were some pieces I disagree with, half I agree with wholeheartedly and the rest were new information.

I would recommend to any Malaysian care enough to know about the state of our country. Not that it gives you a full guide, but it's good to start somewhere.
Dates were attached to each pieces if you need to crosscheck with events, though it's a good practice to always crosscheck anyway.

The contents are light enough and pretty direct, aside from the few sarcastic pieces but hey, humour works when you're reading something serious.
Point is, just read it :p
It's sold at RM25 in POPULAR though I can just lend you my copy anytime.
I enjoyed reading it that much!

[Witoldzio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of press articles by Zan Azlee, with commentaries on Malaysian society and politics, the book seems a bit outdated today. It gives a glimpse of political life in Malaysia before the pandemic. An altogether excellent introductory reading for those who are fascinated with this wonderful country and have some basic familiarity with it, it can be a bit confusing at times, with sporadic quotes in Malay and names of political parties abbreviated (all of these can be looked up on the internet). Initially, the style of writing seemed rather cautious, but the book gets much better as you read on, the author is becoming more outspoken and his ideas clearer, and the societal criticism more passionate. Also noteworthy is the fact that the author maintains a nice elegant sense of humor throughout.

[Indaq · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, maybe I put my expectations too high from the title of the book alone.

Its the collection of articles/blogposts that somehow some of it are outdated. The book written ranging from the year 2011 with issues like janji dicapati until the year of 2015 with well, I do agree the issues of media restrictions, fifth estates, perkauman etc are ongoing issues...but hmmm...

I might be reading this at the wrong time.

[Shiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, maybe I put my expectations too high from the title of the book alone.

Its the collection of articles/blogposts that somehow some of it are outdated. The book written ranging from the year 2011 with issues like janji dicapati until the year of 2015 with well, I do agree the issues of media restrictions, fifth estates, perkauman etc are ongoing issues...but hmmm...

I might be reading this at the wrong time.

[N L K · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's laidback, it's provocative. While there's some you might not agree or understood out of context, some will make you think. An interesting read for a Malaysian, Muslim and those who identify as Malay, but sometimes wonder if it really meant as it is.

[Max Loh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of musings of being Malaysian in the ebb and flow of local politics and day to day life. The language is clear and concise, though the grammatical errors and typos did affect my enjoyment of the book.

[Khairi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku ini berat sikit untuk memahami tapi di bawa dengan santai. Macam2 cerita politik diceritakan dengan sejarah sekali.

[Sizarifalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book for a person like me who is clueless by most of the topics that Zan wrote about. I like the Race and Religion topics because some I can relate.

[Narendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This country needs more people like Zan Azlee.

[Puteri Nurzurain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how he touched on some topics that are deemed 'sensitive' especially the religion part. Would definitely recommend this book to Malaysians! Please la Malaysians, stop being so ignorant, hiding behind religious views to avoid thinking.