Was liberalism transplanted in India from the west or was it rooted in Indian tradition? Was Gandhi a liberal? What is the role of religion in the evolution of India’s liberal tradition? Is there a liberal space in India politics? Are India’s liberals united or divided when it comes to solutions for India’s problems? How can we move beyond the “marketplace of ideas” to the “marketplace of policies”?

To discuss these questions and more, twenty liberals from politics, media, academics, civil society and government came together at the “Colloquium on the Indian Liberal Tradition” held recently in Bangalore from 13-15 June. It was organised by the Centre for Civil Society in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF).

“Economic liberalisation is the process of freeing up market in order to allow people to work and support themselves as they see fit.”

Responding to the “New Economic Model” report recently released by the Malaysian government, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) produces a document, entitled “Liberalising Malaysian Economy?”

This document is intended for the general public and policy makers. The authors – Kwek Kon Yao, Afif Absullah and Wan Saiful Wan Jan – hope to contribute to the ongoing debate about the report and the future shape of the country’s economy, and to supply further arguments why economic liberalisation is the best way forward for Malaysia. The document focuses particularly on the four critical issues of the report, namely economic liberalisation, privatisation, foreign workers and minimum wage.

Thirty students from 13 universities from West, Central, and East Java and Jakarta participated in the second Akademi Merdeka Indonesia in a Bogor resort on the outskirts of Jakarta.

Getting to know and understanding an idea is an important endeavour for a society, especially for its youth and students, and particularly for the young people in Indonesia, a country in the process of transition to democracy. The ideas of freedom, free society and liberalism are more or less new ideas for many students, after the words gained negative association during the dictatorship era before 1998 in Indonesia.