Teenage artists have taken a stand against corruption by joining forces with acclaimed cartoonists in the latest exhibition of cartoons on the subject.
The artists, Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, 17, and Airis, 16, who prefers to be known only by her first name, are among the 35 local cartoonists taking part in the "Rasuah Sebagai Budaya" exhibition featuring 109 cartoons, running at the virtual gallery, Craftora, throughout the month.
Passionate about using art to address social issues, Ain seized the opportunity to participate in this exhibition to voice out her thoughts on how corruption flourishes in Malaysia, especially in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We see a lot of people just letting these corrupt practices continue to flourish, especially among higher-ups, and people in power are not taking any action.
“So I made drawings about it, especially on how people just shut themselves away from the problem, as if it’s not there and it doesn’t affect them,” said the artist, who is exhibiting her work for the second time.
Believing that people in power are using Covid-19 as a shield to hide corrupt practices, Ain also questioned the lack of government transparency in one of her illustrations.
“A favourite artwork of mine in this exhibition would be ‘Go Away Follow the SOP!’ because here, I’m trying to portray how some of our authorities use Covid-19 as a way to blanket their acts of corruption.”
Ain, who catapulted into the spotlight for fighting against sexual harassment in schools earlier this year, added many do not regard corruption as a serious act, while some dismiss it as a “test of God”.
She hopes the cartoons will help people understand the gravity of corrupt practices and spread awareness on how such practices can become ingrained into society.
“Corruption changes how people act and how people do things. I think that this exhibition is showing a new perspective on how corruption takes place during this pandemic,” she added.
“It’s really refreshing to see more younger and fresher artists getting the limelight that they deserve.”
Urging youngsters to speak out
Having a knack for portraying mature subjects in simplistic illustrations, Airis has three works on display in the "Rasuah Sebagai Budaya" exhibition.
The youngest cartoonist in the exhibition, Airis fears that her submission would not hold up against those from older, more experienced artists, satirists and cartoonists.
However, she soon realised that when it comes to corruption, age is just a number.
“I realised I don’t really need to be of legal age to understand that corruption is bad. That really gave me the confidence to participate,” she said.
Through her cartoons, Airis said she wants to show that young people are capable of telling the difference between what is morally right and wrong, and they must be heard.
“It’s to show the older generation that young people have opinions, too,” she added.
“I want people to know that if a child can comprehend that corruption is bad, then older people should be able to grasp the concept also.”
Airis said her work of "Generation Gap" is closest to her heart because it was her grandmother who helped her come up with the title.
This, she said, showed that the fight against corruption is not something that is only for one generation.
“(It represents) a grandmother and her granddaughter bonding over the fact that we want the world to be free of corruption,” she said.
Airis urged the younger generation not to be afraid to call out wrongful action.
“If you know that something is morally incorrect and it could interfere with the stability of our country, don’t be afraid to speak out,” she concluded.
'Corruption is a collective issue'
The Rasuah Sebagai Budaya virtual exhibition, hosted with the support of the Malaysia Reform Initiative (MARI), USAID and the US Embassy, is organised by veteran political cartoonist Zunar.
Other popular cartoonists participating include Faizati, Amin Landak (see top image) and Jason from the popular web cartoon series, Potato Couple.
When brainstorming for the theme of this virtual exhibition, Zunar said he wanted a subject matter that all Malaysians could relate to.
“Corruption has become a culture in Malaysia. It’s not only politics, but the corruption goes to all levels in the society.”
By bringing this matter to light through the use of cartoons, the cartoonists hope to inspire the people to act against corruption in their own capacity.
Besides the cartoonists’ work, Craftora is also holding a forum on how corruption threatens society today (Sept 4) at 5pm, via Facebook Live.
The panel includes senator Husam Musa, Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ president Akhbar Satar, constitutional law expert and Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson Abdul Aziz Bari and Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) director Cynthia Gabriel. - Mkini
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