In trouble for breaking convention

The 44-year-old designer thought printing the King’s image on his T-shirts was one way of honouring the royalty.

COMMENT

“I believe in myself. If my heart feels right then I will go with what it says” – designer Bernard Chandran

Celebrated tailor Bernard Chandran has made Malaysia proud many a times. His designs have been flaunted by international celebrities like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Estelle and Tori Amos. The royalty back home and in Brunei also count in as among his ‘loyalists’.

Chandran’s credential as impressive; he was the first Malaysian to win the ‘Open European Contest for Look of the Year 2000′ in 1991 and was adjudged ‘Designer of the Year’ by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2003. Six years later he was awarded the Malaysian International Fashion Alliance’s ‘Special Achievement Award’.

Little did the celebrity designer with the ‘dato’ title realise the trouble he was courting with his project of featuring reigning Yang di-Pertuan Agong or King, Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, on his T-shirt.

On May 9, in walked seven to eight civilian-dressed cops who confiscated 52 of the said T-shirts from Chandran’s Area 27 store located at the Fahrenheit 88 shopping mall along Jalan Bukit Bintang.

Not just that, the policemen also arrested two of Chandran’s staff.

Chandran, for one is in a daze as to what law he has violated just by thinking ‘out of the box’. The cops however muttered that the violation pertained to ‘percetakan’ (printing laws).

But Chandran, hailed as Malaysia’s “King of Fashion” begs to differ as he had presented a few copies of those T-shirts to the queen, Raja Permaisuri Agong Sultanah Haminah Hamidun, during a London exhibition two weeks ago who however made no comment on them.

The 44-year-old designer thought printing the King’s image on his T-shirts was one way of honouring the royalty, as he perceived the royalty had the perception of being “untouchable, old and traditional” and Chandran simply wanted to change that.

“I think that to me, it was awareness…Why do you always want to wear the Union Jack? I thought the durian and the Ringgit were cool,” he had said, referring to other designs in his T-shirt range.

“We wanted to bring that to a T-shirt… If you love something, you’d want to put it on your chest,” Chandran said.

Breaking convention

Most people, according to Chandran, were not aware of the royalty. The Agong’s image printed on the T-shirt was taken from when His Majesty was first coronated in the 70s.

Chandran’s effort to was raise awareness among the people of the royalty. The question is ‘was the creative thinking’ process on Chandran’s part worth his time and sweat?

Whatever the issue here, when it comes to creativity, Chandran unquestionably deserves full marks. The Bernard Chandran ‘King T-shirts’ issue reveals a sad state as far as appreciating creativity goes.

Would it have been any better if the designer had instead used prime minister Najib Razak or his flamboyant wife Rosmah Mansor as his ‘subjects’?

By the way, there have been politicians who have featured their faces on goody bags to canvass support. Is this permissible under the law?

Also, is it a crime for the rakyat to walk around in designs that honour certain personalities? Or is it the burgeoning egos of those in authority that decide who is ‘untouchable’ and who is not?

Who broke the news to the cops of the T-shirts with the King’s face is another story. But to act in such a clumsy manner and seize the designer-wear and arrest two bewildered staff does not hold the Royal Malaysian Police in high-esteem.

Chandran had the guts to break convention and explore something different. What is the crime here? Are the rakyat not requested to pray for His Majesty’s long life each year when the latter celebrates his birthday?

What about the on-going propaganda that says the ‘King and his people cannot be separated’? Why then when it came to wearing a T-shirt with the face of the King on it, all hell has broken loose as far as the Home Ministry is concerned?

Don’t stifle creative minds

It is hoped this episode of confiscating T-shirts that reflect minds will be the last. If the King is a ‘copyright’ item, then the onus is on the authorities to make it clear to everyone.

By forfeiting Chandran T-shirts, the authorities have regrettably relayed the message that the King and his people live in two different worlds. But do they really?

Is there a law in place that dictates what the rakyat can and cannot wear?

Chandran had a vision and that he translated onto his T-shirt, which was to strengthen the bond between royalty and rakyat. Did he make a mistake?

But then when it comes to avant-garde ideas, the Malaysian authorities seem to squirm in their pants. Thre Chandran episode brings to mind the mistreatment experienced by cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque or popularly known as Zunar who in 2010 was arrested under the Sedition Act for publishing books considered ‘detrimental to public order’ and that could ‘influence the people to revolt against government policies’.

Zunar’s book, “Cartoon-o-phobia” launched two years ago cover a gamut of issues, ranging from the murder of Altantuya, the conspiracy against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, the PM’s wife, the loss of jet engines, the scandalous Scorpene submarines deal, Sarawak, racism, corruption and waste of public funds, among others,

Zunar’s three previous books – “1 Funny Malaysia”, “Perak Darul Kartun” and “Isu Dalam Kartun” were banned by the Home Ministry but like Chandran, he too has a vision and is willing to task the risk involved.

And still, the government keeps whining that Malaysia lacks talent. Maybe a lesson or two from Chandran and Zunar in “thinking out of the box” is just what the ruling Barisan Nasional government needs.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.