Sponsored by Tourism Malaysia 14 Jun 2021
Attention urban adventurers: did you know that Malaysia is home to some of the most Instagrammable street art in the world?
Malaysia’s bustling capital cities are bringing vibrant colours and playful themes to their alleyways and building facades with the help of its thriving urban art scene.
Street art is not new in Malaysia. Graffiti was prominent on the streets of city centres in the 60s and 70s as a medium for protest and has been posing challenges to the conventional art world and property and ownership laws since.
Just a decade ago, graffiti was viewed as vandalism and artists faced hefty fines if they were caught, but now local authorities are fans of the colourful murals and even commission artists to jazz up urban spaces.
George Town, Malaysia – The arrest of graphic artist and social activist Fahmi Reza over a satirical song list poking fun at a comment made by Malaysia’s queen has rekindled debate over freedom of expression in the Southeast Asian nation.
Police arrested Fahmi, who came to prominence in 2015 with a now iconic clown caricature that lampooned then-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, on April 23, accusing him of insulting the queen with the playlist, which he titled Dengki Ke (Malay for “Are you jealous?”) and illustrated with a cover image of the royal.
He was also accused of sharing “offensive and menacing content” for the list, which he uploaded to Spotify and Apple Music, featuring songs including Jealousy by Queen and God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols.