Beautify city with murals: Liew
Published on: Friday, October 19, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Street art murals, which were once deemed distasteful, have evolved into tourist attractions, especially in cities around the globe.Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said in the past, street murals were often regarded as a form of vandalism."However, now, with the support of local authorities like City Hall, such artworks are able to become attractions for tourists," she said when launching the Kota Kinabalu Bin Art Trail, here, Thursday.
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"Social media like Instagram and Facebook, too, are filled with photos of people in interesting street murals."Some are even willing to line up in long queues to take photos with these murals as their backdrops."Towards this end, Liew who is also State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister urged more quarters to contribute towards the beautification of the city through street art murals.Commending the City Hall's effort to host a street art mural competition, Liew said such art has the potential to become a tourist attraction.
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"Unlike other street murals which are usually painted on building walls, historical buildings or gallery, the murals highlighted by the artists in this competition are unique and bold."The murals in the competition are painted on steps, bin centres and public toilets.
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"This bold step has transformed these places into beautiful and interesting sites."It has also created a sense of responsibility for city folks to maintain the cleanliness of these places."Apart from steps and bin centres, Liew hoped the City Hall and other agencies can take the initiative to transform the back alleys of buildings here, especially in commercial areas, into clean, beautiful, safe and attractive sites."However, it is regretful that there are still some irresponsible quarters who deface these murals."Such irresponsible acts can affect the city's image in the eyes of tourists."As such, I urge this immoral act to be tackled by enhancing public awareness so that the effort to beautify the city is not wasted," she said.During the same ceremony, Liew presented the prizes for the Bin Centres and Public Toilets Mural Painting Competition.The first place was won by Abdullah Elid and Azlie Luli for their colourful piece titled "Sabah Ethnic Motive." They brought home RM3,500 and certificates."Waiting" by Josrie Heral, Intan Munirah Hamzah and Nashrul Azaharie Oredi grabbed the second spot to earn them RM2,000 and certificates.Murnie Liana Rahim and Fakhruddin Mohd Yakub's "Sayang Kinabalu" won the third prize. They received RM1,000 and certificates.Some 15 murals were painted within the city area for the competition.Meanwhile, during the same event, Liew presented Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) President Datuk Tan Kok Liang with the Certificate of TPO Best Award – Best Tourism Industry Leader.City Hall has nominated Tan for the award and received it, in June, this year, on behalf of him in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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