‘If mural is bad, what about pickpocket signs?’

Two local councillors say if MBJB was to blame the Lego mural for tarnishing the city's image, then it must also remove the many signs that say, “beware of pickpocket”.

PETALING JAYA: If a mural depicting a Lego man brandishing a knife, waiting to rob a Lego woman with a branded handbag is deemed to tarnish the city’s image, then the Johor Bahru City Council must remove all signages that say, “beware of pickpocket” or “beware of snatch thieves.”

The mural, which Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic painted on a private building last week, came under fire from the Johor executive councillor Tee Siew Kiong, which he said placed the city in a bad light.

This was followed by JB mayor Ismail Karim’s warning yesterday that he would remove the mural soon because it was inappropriate.

To support their stand that the council’s decision did not hold water, Petaling Jaya City Council councillor Derek Fernandez and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council councillor Keppy Wong said there were also many signages in Malaysia that warned the public of crimes in the area.

“Sometimes if you walk into a shopping centre, you will see a sign ‘beware of car theft’ or ‘beware of pickpocket – would you take that as an act of tarnishing the city image?” Wong asked.

Fernandez said even the government had put up signages to alert the public that crime was rampant in the area.

“To me it is a non-issue, (the painter) was merely trying to send a social message to the public. The council shouldn’t have deemed it as offensive,” he said.

Can MBJB remove the mural?

The two practising lawyers gave contradicting views when asked if MBJB had the authority to remove the mural that was painted on a private building.

Wong said under the by-law, local council would only be allowed to remove a painting or caricature that was deemed obscene to the public.

“In this case, the official statement given was that the mural is tarnishing the city’s image. But this should not be considered as obscene because it is not corrupting the public moral at all.

“Morality has nothing to do with tarnishing or promoting the city’s image, especially when it is on a private building.

“For example, if an area you live in is dirty, then someone put up a mural showing a man pinching his nose, how does this amount to obscenity?” he asked.

Wong said MBJB could only remove the mural if it was a form of advertisement and since the instruction came directly from a state exco, the Johor opposition should raise their objections in the state legislative assembly.

The property owner, on the other hand, can obtain a court injunction to stop MBJB from encroaching into his building or seek a judicial review once the mural was removed, he added.

“I hope the local authorities won’t be too sensitive. If the painting reflects reality, it only serves as a warning to the public,” he said.

Fernandez, however, said any notification, sign or image that were displayed in public were subjected to the regulation of advertising by-laws under local council.

“The advertising by-laws contain a very general description. (The mural) is trying to send out a message, so it is definitely a notification.

“Unless when it is painted inside a building it is safe. But since it is facing a thoroughfare, local council definitely has the power to remove it,” he said.

Agreeing with the Petaling Jaya councillor, Johor DAP deputy chief Norman Fernandez said the MBJB’s had frequently invoked the by-law when removing loan shark stickers or graffiti on private properties.

“Leaving all that aside, it is better that the city council view the mural as something tongue-in-cheek.

“Removing the mural doesn’t mean you can whitewash the people’s perception that JB is a crime-infested place,” he said.

Zacharevic was reported as saying that he drew the mural based on the two things that JB is known for – the Legoland theme park and the high crime rate.

“Art does not damage a city’s image, crime does,” he reportedly said.

Following the JB mayor’s statement, Zacharevic has designed an alternate version of the mural which showed the Lego man holding a bunch of flowers instead of a knife.

“Politically-correct version – there is nothing that flowers could not cover,” he said on his facebook page today.

[Second photo courtesy of Chin Koh Goh]