Malaysian political cartoonist and dissident Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, better known by the pseudonym Zunar, visited Manual on Sept. 9 to discuss censorship and freedom of the press. He was sponsored by the University of Louisville Center for Asian Democracy.
Zunar spoke with student journalists for about an hour, discussing his cartoons and his activism against Malaysia’s Sedition Act.
Zunar was arrested in September 2010 for his high profile criticisms of the Malaysian government. His books have been confiscated and banned in Malaysia.
“Cartoons can be used as a weapon to raise awareness, to make a stand,” he said. “We are not going to win. The only way is to create awareness.”
“It is impossible to stay neutral in a moral crisis,” he continued. “Journalists must make a stand to stop people in power from tricking the public.”
A portfolio of Zunar’s work is available here.
