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- The mural at Blacksmith Road which was damaged by fire and the burnt remains of the motorcycle.
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- Artist Tiong (centre) posing for a photograph with chef Kiu when he completed the painting in February. On the right is Tiong’s wife.
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- The painting was vandalised in March, barely a month after it was completed. Tiong restored it using his own resources.
SIBU: Sibu Municipal Council’s liaison officer for street art Teng Ming Min confirmed yesterday the council would restore the mural at the side lane of Blacksmith Road that was damaged by fire.
The unique mural centres on a local Foochow gastronomic speciality known as ‘ding bian hu’.
When contacted, Teng said she was informed of the damage early yesterday by a member of the public, adding she had contacted the owner of the building and artist Brendon Tong to facilitate the mural’s restoration.
She said they would try to speed the work up in view of Visit Sibu Year 2017 which is less than two months away.
“The council is happy the building owner has agreed to fund the restoration while the artist had agreed to repaint the damaged portion.”
When contacted, Tiong said this was the second time his wall painting at Blacksmith Road had been damaged after its completion in February this year.
He said the first incident which was caused by vandals occurred less than a month after the artwork was completed and he had volunteered to repaint it then, using money from his pocket to purchase the paint.
He confirmed yesterday the council had contacted him for the second restoration and he had pledged to help again.
He said he would schedule a time to carry out the work, adding he would only repaint the damaged part.
“I want to keep the piece as original as possible.”
Teng said when she was informed about the damage, she also spoke with chef Kiu Chiang Loi who operates the ‘ding bian hu’ food stall at the side lane.
The mural depicts Kiu hard at work preparing the iconic Sibu specialty. He has been cooking ‘ding bian hu’ at his side lane stall for 56 years.
“The damage occurred when a motorcycle parked there overnight caught fire. It is unclear whether it was arson caused by a drunk man,” she said, adding that the council had not lodged a police report over the matter.
Teng said there were already nine murals in Sibu initiated by SMC in collaboration with property owners and local artists as the town gears up for Visit Sibu Year 2017.
She said the council wanted to tell stories of Sibu culture through street paintings.
“There are 10 paintings to be completed. We have done nine. The next one will again be a wall painting on Sibu Central Market–the biggest market in Malaysia.”
She expected the tenth painting to be completed before 2017, its cultural theme being discussed by the council.
Teng called on members of the community to protect and preserve the wall paintings.
After artist Tiong had finished the painting in February, he told The Borneo Post: “I love illustrations. The ‘ding bian hu’ painting is my first painting gift to Sibu community.
“Let’s love our home and build Sibu together.”