SHAH ALAM, April 2 — An academic urged university students today to fight for a more moderate Malaysia amid rising racial and religious tensions.

Universiti Malaya law lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom, who faces a sedition charge, said the consequences of fighting for change in the country should not be a deterrent.

“No matter how frightening the government is they can’t arrest all of us, as much as they want to try. They can’t stop all of us if we want to do something,” Azmi said at a forum titled “Voices of Moderation” at KDU University College’s Glenmarie campus here.

“If you believe in something, you must fight for it, and when I say fight, I mean fight without actually using violence,” he told a group of about 100 students.

The law lecturer said moderation is simply allowing for discourse to take place and giving the public an opportunity to speak and to be heard.

“Being moderate, to me, is to not only behave in an extremist or violent way but also about giving space and respect to others, respecting their rights, giving them space to speak even when they don’t respect your rights and they don’t give you space to speak,” Azmi said.

Sisters in Islam (SIS) founding member Zainah Anwar echoed his sentiment, but cautioned that speaking out comes with the possibility of a backlash.

“If you want to bring about change, get ready to be attacked. If you want to bring change, you must face the consequences of having your voice heard in public and that’s par for the course,” said the women’s rights activist.

The police have engaged in an apparent crackdown against lawyers, politicians, social activist movements and journalists over tweets and rallies critical of the government, as well as allegedly false news reporting.

‘I am #26’ online petition initiator Lyana Khairuddin and Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) chief executive Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, both of whom champion moderation in Malaysia, were also present at the forum.