This 'Najib Clown Face' Shoe Has Received The Most Votes In A Vans Asia Competition So Far
The 2018 Vans Asia Custom Culture Competition sees a familiar design from Fahmi Reza.
By Tang Ruxyn — 05 Jul 2018, 01:05 PM
Political activist Fahmi Reza is known for his clown-face caricature of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak
The satirical sketch was introduced by Fahmi in January 2016 with the hashtag #KitaSemuaPenghasut ('We Are All Seditious') in response to news that then Malaysian Attorney-General (AG) had cleared Najib of any corruption relating to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
The artwork was also part of a campaign against the Sedition Act.
Fast forward to two years later, the clown face caricature of Najib is one of the highest-voted shoe design for a Vans online competition in Asia
The graphic designer submitted his creation as an entry for the Vans Asia Custom Culture Competition this year at the last minute before the submission deadline 30 June.
In less than eight hours after his submission on 29 June, Fahmi highlighted that his entry received the highest number of votes in Asia.
At the time of writing, Fahmi's design has already gained more than 15,800 votes in this regional competition. This means that his design was leading with at least 11,000 more votes than the second place which has garnered more than 4,700 votes so far.
Open to the legal residents of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, the competition will see the winning design debut in-store on Vans shelves Asia-wide in 2019. The winner also take home cash prize worth USD2,000 (approximately RM8,000).
Despite getting the most votes so far, Fahmi's creation may not necessary be selected as one of the designs that will be shortlisted for the next round
Vans will be selecting a total of 10 local submissions for the next round, where artists would have to go through the 'True White Slip-On Showdown' and public voting process. The best will be sent to the finals to compete with artists from other countries.
Then, the finalists will go through another around of public voting before the ultimate winner is announced in October 2018.
"So, even if #KasutPenghasut gets the highest number of votes, it may not necessarily get chosen for the next round. If #KasutPenghasut is not selected, should we just make this shoe ourselves?" Fahmi wrote in a Facebook post today, 5 July.
If Fahmi's design ever comes to life, would you want to buy it? Share with us your thoughts in the comments section below!