Of Vandalism

Dear readers,


I'm a bit free today, since the past few days have been bloody hectic for me. Meetings, RFI's to reply, submission to be prepared. So, here's a post for you. Yes. You.

I've been running (figuratively speaking, of course) around ever since I've been in this job. Site meetings, client office, architect's office, and sometimes just for a Teh Tarik with some 'friends' in the industry.

But everywhere I go, I see a lot of vandalism; in a variety of forms and shapes and colours. So, here's some of them, and my thoughts on them.


Toilets


Of course, the most obvious one. Hey, don't blame Malaysians on this one. It was the same in one other particular overseas country I've been to (shall be named Country Z from here thereof). However, the forms are different.

Some of the typical ones in Malaysia:

"B***ia Ampang - 017-5627621"

(Note: Bukan nombor sebenar)

Apa yang saya selalu fikir adalah; apakah benar nombor tersebut milik orang yang dikatakan itu? Bagaimana jika situasinya adalah seperti berikut: Saya seorang yang ingin mengetahui anda ini kurang sopan tabiatnya atau tidak. Jadi saya tuliskan nombor saya, cuba lihat siapa yang menelefon.

Sebelum anda membuat andaian yang tidak tepat, ingin saya nyatakan saya tidak pernah mencuba nombor-nombor ini. Kerana saya bimbang andaian saya seperti di atas benar-benar tepat. Malulah nombor saya di cam sebagai luar tabii.

Tandas-tandas di Malaysia juga ada banyak gambar-gambar / lukisan. 99% daripadanya sungguh buruk. Melukis atas kertas pun tak reti, ada hati nak melukis di dinding. Tapi 1% itu, saya pernah jumpa. Memang cantik lukisannya. Sayang sekali ianya dilukis di tandas. Saya tertanya-tanya mungkinkah pelukis jalanan yang saya jumpa di luar tandas itu yang melukisnya. Jika ya, beliau berhak menerima penghormatan saya. Bukan senang nak melukis sambil melabur.

Di merata tempat juga, ada banyak tampalan iklan. Paling banyak sekali "Pinjaman Mudah".

Wah.

There's no such thing as easy money my friend. In fact, the ones so called "Pinjaman Mudah Lulus" are the hardest ones in terms of consequences.

Lulus memang mudah, bayarannya? Itulah yang susah.

Ini pun banyak juga saya jumpa. Banyak yang tak cantik, tapi banyak juga yang OK.

From my point of view, Malaysian graffiti has improved a lot since the last time I saw them. There's more art involved rather than incomprehensible letters spray painted in vibrant colors. I think most of us knew about the graffiti made as a tribute to the late Yasmin Ahmad. That was quite amazing as far as I could say. Quite artful, yet it's still a graffiti.

Simply put, there are forms of vandalism everywhere. It's quite subjective though, on the beauty of them. Some view it as a form of decorations. I sometimes regard it as a medium to understand people. Some view it as way to express themselves.

Yang terbaru saya jumpa, adalah pagi tadi, ketika saya sedang minum pagi di kedai mamak. Di meja tersebut ada torehan yang bertulis

''MAMAK BULU''

Saya mengeluh, habiskan teh tarik saya, dan berlalu pergi.

Maka terciptalah post ini.

Sekian :)