Malaysian artist skewers officials through posters

Amir Hadi Azmi
2016.02.17
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Artist Fahmi Reza poses in front of a display that was part of an exhibit titled “12 Years of Civil Disobedience,” in Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 13, 2014. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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The artist paints a sign for his exhibition in 2014. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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Fahmi works on a poster on the theme of police brutality. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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Fahmi Reza (left) appears with student activist Adam Adli during a protest against a longstanding ban on student participation in politics, outside the Bar Council in Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 17, 2011. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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A poster by Fahmi is held up at the People's Uprising Rally, on 12 Jan. 2013, during which people voiced frustration at government policies and decisions. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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Fahmi in front of a barricade in Hong Kong during Occupy Central protests in October 2014. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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An outdoor exhibit of works by Fahmi Reza protests the construction of a high-rise business complex on the grounds of Taman Merdeka (Independence Park) in Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 15, 2016. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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Activists pose with Fahmi's “Occupy Dataran Merdeka” poster in front of a police barricade. [Courtesy of Fahmi Reza]

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A Jan. 31 tweet by the Royal Malaysia Police’s Cyber Investigation Response Center warns that Fahmi’s Twitter account is being watched. “Use it responsibily and according to the law,” it says. [BenarNews]

Updated at 11:15 a.m. ET on 2016-02-18

The tagline to Fahmi Reza’s Twitter page says it all in two words: “Visual Disobedience.”

For years, the 38-year-old Malaysian graphic artist has been creating political art and defying his country’s authority figures by lampooining them in satirical posters.

Amid an increase in cases in which government critics have been arrested or charged on the pretext of violating the country’s Sedition Act, Fahmi has used his art to cast a spotlight on the trend.

Last month, the self-taught artist caused a stir on Twitter by posting his latest rendition of Prime Minister Najib Razak, as a clown. The caption reads, “In 2015, the Sedition Act was used 91 times. But in a country full of corruption, we are all seditious.”

He circulated the drawing online five days after Malaysia’s attorney general cleared Najib of potential charges in a financial scandal that has beleaguered the PM for months.

The same day, the Royal Malaysia Police’s Cyber Investigation Response Center posted a warning on Fahmi’s Twitter account telling him that he was “under surveillance.”

But the move may have have backfired. Since then, fans of Fahmi have posted other images of the prime minister with creative and colorful variations on the clown theme. The online images have gone viral through the hashtag “We are all seditious.”

The artist describes himself as “an ordinary citizen fighting back against Big Brother.”

“Throughout history, protest posters have always played an important role in the people’s struggle for social change. Posters can inspire and motivate, and can be used as a tool to raise awareness and to wake people up,” Fahmi told BenarNews.

“We need to stop being afraid of our government. We need to have the courage to stand up against injustice, against corruption,” he added.

This version corrects errors that appeared in some of the captions in an earlier version.

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