In discussing the Malaysian trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at an event Monday, President Barack Obama said while he generally does not comment on legal cases, it is important the trial against Ibrahim is “open” so it does not have a “chilling effect on potential opposition in government.”Obama later drew upon the importance of scrutiny of government to tout the strength of the United States’ democratic system, comparing it to the Ibrahim case, which critics say is politically motivated.“Democracy is hard,” Obama said. “I think that many of the things that are said about me are terribly unfair, but the reason American democracy has survived for so long is because people, even if they’re wrong, have a right to say what they think.”