Artist Dedicates Another Mural To Frontliners But Netizens Fear A Second Vandalism Attempt
The mural can be found behind Makan Heritage in Kota Damansara.
By Alyssa Pong — 23 Jul 2020, 12:25 PM
Suhaimi Ali, a Terengganu-born artist who made headlines this week after a mural of his was vandalised, surprised Malaysians with yet another work of art - this time of national frontliners
Taking to his social media accounts, Suhaimi revealed that he began sketching the outline of this new piece on 13 July, a week before his portraits of our national leaders at Shah Alam were disfigured with red spray paint.
Compared to his earlier murals, this one surely takes the cake for being the largest. The Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) graduate of Fine Arts even required scaffolding to complete the piece.
Alongside depicting Datuk Dr Noor Hisham, the bright new mural features health professionals, a policeman, army officers, and delivery riders standing in front of a waving Jalur Gemilang
A short timelapse of the striking final piece was uploaded to Suhaimi's Facebook page yesterday, 22 July, taking him slightly over a week to accomplish the huge endeavour on his own.
The artwork, which can be found on a wall outside Makan Heritage in Kota Damansara, Selangor, honours the efforts of everyday heroes in the battle against COVID-19.
Fearful of another vandalism attempt, concerned netizens voiced the need for increased security at the site
One Twitter user spoke about how much she admired Suhaimi for his commitment to art, even though his viral portraits of Dr Noor Hisham and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong were ordered to be painted over just three days ago.
"Look at this, he paints the mural day and night because he values the efforts of our leaders, and loves our country of Malaysia. But, there are still those without values who vandalise murals," she wrote.
Other Malaysians insisted that closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras be installed and a guard be stationed at the site to prevent anyone from defacing property.
"I swear though, there needs to be a guard house or I feel history will repeat itself."
"Guys, please install CCTV. If not, somebody will vandalise it again."
One person even suggested that they replace the eyes of the painted figures with hidden cameras.
"Install a small camera in the eye of the mural."
