Africans and Asians must no longer blame colonialism for the genocide, bigotry and terrorism that have been taking place in the two continents, said former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
Instead, the people in the two continents must be bold enough to admit their failures which have caused them so much pain and sorrow in recent times, he said in his lecture entitled "Asian and African Rennaisance" at Cape Town University in South Africa on Wednesday.

"Asia and Africa have suffered persecution and hardship for decades, and in some cases, centuries, at the hands of marauders from the West. This bitter history will remain in our collective memory."

"But should we continue to blame colonialism for our failings? Bad government, genocide, bigotry and terrorism are failures of our own making. Some of them do have roots in colonial times or in the injustices of the international order, but the failure of governance is entirely ours. The sooner we acknowledge this, the faster we can get our act together," he pointed out.

Anwar said that power abuse and economic corruption were rampant in both the two continents where democracy has yet to mature.

"Many African and Asian elites share an aversion to criticism. This is manifested in their desire to muzzle the press and to control other avenues for freedom of expression," he said.

"In my country, it is not the ruling clique alone that exercises control over the media, but a collusion of political and corporate interests. Mergers and other forms of corporate exercise are the names given for the game, the objective of which is to silence criticism."

Criticism a part of life

He said no society can progress without a sustained process of internal criticism which is necessary for a society to discover its weaknesses and recognise its failures so that it can seek solutions.

"Democracy will die without the vitamins of criticism. Thus, if we desire a genuine renaissance, the practice of internal criticism must be part of our way of life. If dissent and internal criticism are allowed to flourish as integral parts of our national life, we should have no reason to fear criticism from abroad."

He said in Asia, those calling for greater freedom are vilified as panderers to the Western audience.

"The current notion of human rights may indeed have first emerged in the West. But to those suffering imprisonment for no crime other than that of being faithful to their political convictions, or of censuring dictators, or of decrying corruption and abuse of power, it is absurd and indeed perverse to speak of relativity in human rights. "

He said "mandarins" in Asia had argued for an Asian version of human rights to serve the interest of despots who want to stay in power by keeping the press shackled and enacting draconian laws to silence dissidents.

The struggle for independence from foreign domination in the first half of the last century, he said, was replaced by an arduous striving for democracy and human rights, for freedom from the iron fists of those among them.

Week-long visit

Anwar was invited by the university to deliver the lecture in conjunction with the university's 175th anniversary. His visit to the university was one of his many activities during his seven-day visit to South Africa.

He exchanged views with several African leaders including South African former president Nelson Mandela, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and ex-Zambian president Dr Kenneth Kaunda and human rights activist Bishop Desmond Tutu.


While in South Africa, Anwar was also interviewed by several media organisations including TV Islam and South African Boradcasting Corporation.