Pray for MH370

In light of recent events surrounding the disappearance of a Malaysian Airline plane MH370, Malaysia has been put under the scrutiny in terms of the handling of the case by the Malaysian government. The news of the disappearance comes a day after the former Deputy Prime Minister and the Opposition Party Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was charged with sodomy and sentenced to five year in jail. This has caused many conspiracy theory to rise by linking the two seemingly unrelated issues together. As a Malaysian, I am hoping that both political parties could put aside their differences in the quest of uncovering the truth behind the disappearance of MH 370. I believe that as a citizen of Malaysia, it is important that we can support any political party without fear of offending anyone.

The recent events surrounding my country and my previous post on Better Block has made me think of organizations and events that I have participated in Malaysia with the goal of improving the city of Kuala Lumpur. One such organization which is similar to Better Block is Better Cities. Better Cities is an organization whose objective is to improve the living condition in Malaysia and bringing together the community of a particular neighbourhood. One of the project that I was involve in during my participation was the Damansara Jaya Lorong Party (Damansara Jaya Laneway Party) which intends to bring together the community of Damansara Jaya by creating a number of diverse program which will allow for the people in that area to get to know each other. Below is a short clip of the project.

The laneway project was executed by constructing a large interactive mural installation called the “Automatic Mural”. One of the ways we got residents to break the ice was by asking them to add to the mural by randomly selecting the shape, colour and position of a predetermined template. The end result was a display of each of the participants own interpretation of the template. We also wanted to find out how residents felt about the place they lived in. We used some chalk and stencils to conduct a neighbourhood survey by getting residents to fill in what they felt they wanted to see in Damansara Jaya.

“I want a _________ in Damansara Jaya” was chalk-sprayed on the pavements of the park and we received a mix of responses at the end of the day. Some of the responses included: I want a “Disneyland”, I want “unity”, and I want “better security”. As there were quite a number of older citizens, a few of the responses were for a pondok or small hut for people to sit and rest in between their walks, and there was also a request for a football field.

Occasions like these are a good excuse to get people out of their houses on a weekend to sit and talk to the people that live closest to them. What I have learned from my experience there was that art is a good way to bring the community together in an interactive manner. In addition, art, in the form of murals, can be a good way of identifying the cultural needs and wants or even the identity of a place. The role of murals in urban planning is an aspect which I would like to explore more in the future. I was very much inspired by the works of Ernest Zacharevic. He was an artist that was involve with many murals in Malaysia. Some of his famous works are found in Penang where it was well-received. 

However, one of his installations in the south coast city of Johor Bahru was nearly removed by the local council because it “tells the truth” of the place. Subject to many criminal events in the past, Ernest decided to reflect this in his mural. Below is a picture of the mural which was subjected to many controversies and was much publicized. The next picture is an altered version of Ernest’s work in the attempt to rescue the mural from complete removal.

Ernest Zacharevic's original mural in Johor Bahru

The altered version of Ernest's mural

I believe that murals and art installation is an important aspect in urban planning and architecture. It has the ability to project the identity and culture of a place as well as documenting the need for improvement. However, in the case in Johor Bahru, I find that the local council are too worried about the negative aspects of the mural rather than to improve on the security which is clearly the message that was sent through the mural.