.JPG "A mural depicting Covid-19 heroes is pictured in Section 4, Kota Damansara July 23, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Hari Anggara")
PETALING JAYA, July 24 — Despite the short life span of his iconic mural in Shah Alam, Muhammad Suhaimi Ali is undeterred in his efforts to pay tribute to some of Malaysia’s newfound heroes.
He and two friends recently finished painting another mural at the Makan Heritage restaurant located at Kota Damansara, to honour the efforts of Dr Noor Hisham and his fellow Covid-19 frontliners.
He chose the theme for this new mural so that people would remember what happened and what they did for the country.
Suhaimi and his friends, Muhamad Firdaus Nordin and Abdul Hadi Ramli, gained popularity for the mural that they did in Shah Alam that featured leading figures that they admire, particularly for their efforts in handling the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
They included the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The mural has since been painted over after they were vandalised.
The 27-year-old from Terengganu told Malay Mail in an interview that he was initially upset when he heard what had happened to his now-famous artwork.
“I was really shocked and upset when I heard the news. I didn’t think that people would be unhappy with my work, or angry even,” said Suhaimi.
Suhaimi and his friends recently gained recognition for their gorgeous mural of Malaysian figures on the walls of a previously graffiti-filled shop lot at Taman Cahaya Alam in Section U12.
The images were found defaced with graffiti spelling out offensive words on Monday, July 20 and was subsequently painted over.
Suhaimi, who conceptualised the idea for the mural, added that he was also afraid that these figures would be angered by what had happened, but was relieved when he got a comforting phone call from the palace.
“I picked them because I really admire and respect what they have done for the country, especially Tuanku Sultan Abdullah. I actually painted his mural before the pandemic. So it’s been there for a while,” he said.
“Actually I was pretty scared that the Agong would be offended by what the vandals did. But then I received a call from Istana Negara officials and they told me that I wasn’t to blame for what happened because it was something out of my control. I was so relieved.”
The fine arts major added that he plans to redo the Shah Alam mural soon, but this time at a different location, to protect it from vandals.
“Many people have been asking me to paint another mural because they didn’t get to take pictures of it,” said Suhaimi.
“I’ve already planned to re-paint the murals again, once I’m done with some work in Penang. This time it will be on a larger scale and I’ll probably try to paint it high up somewhere so no one can vandalise it again. But we haven’t decided on the location for it yet.”
Suhaimi also said that he never meant for anything bad to happen, as he was merely trying to express his gratitude to the leading figures — the way he knew best.
“When I finished my studies, I did a lot of freelance work painting murals and I fell in love with it,” said Suhaimi.
“After a while of doing it, I felt that this was my calling. This was my passion. There is so much freedom when you paint on a wall, your hands are free and not constrained by the size of your canvas.
“Different people express their appreciation in different ways. For me, it was through these murals.”
Suhaimi also said that he wanted to paint the mural to remind his compatriots, in years to come, of the contributions these figures have made to the country.
“The reason I wanted to paint these murals is so that, let’s say five years from now, people will look at the mural and remember what happened in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Suhaimi.
“I want them to remember that these people worked hard and did a lot for all of us. So I was kind of just trying to record or ‘paint’ history.”
