The artist who drew the murals at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur talks about his experience, satisfaction and nude controversy.
The murals at the National Museum were designed in the post-Merdeka years and they take on a deeper significance as we celebrate 50 years of independence. The artist talks to WILSON HENRY about the experience, satisfaction and nude controversy.
IT has been a familiar and enduring sight at Jalan Travers for over four decades - the two long murals on Malaysian culture and history done with little bits of Venetian glass mosaic.
Glinting and gleaming in the midday sun, the murals at the National Museum, each measuring 35 by 6 metres, depict scenes of the country’s rich and colourful past, and its rich culture.
Cheong Laitong is standing on the grounds outside the National Museum, which is now being restored and renovated, looking at the murals he designed.
“I used a batik-inspired style for the murals, which captures the spirit of the nation’s artistic style, a style that defined the new independent nation.”
Then an animation artist with the Malayan Film Unit, Cheong and five other artists - Hoessin Enas, (Datuk) Syed Ahmad Jamal, Chua Thean Teng, Nik Zainal Abidin and Chun Wen Shi - were invited to submit their designs for the murals.
According to a government statement in November 1962, “the designs submitted by the six artists were of a very high standard” but the judges chose Cheong’s design as “the most suitable”.
Architect Ho Kok Hoe, who was based in Singapore, designed the museum to include the murals which was a twist since most architects were often afraid of murals overshadowing the building.
The mural story was conceived by the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
When the murals was being executed, with mosaic pieces from Irma Spilimbergo in Italy, Cheong was away studying at the LCC Central art school in London.
“What a surprise when I returned. It was a moment of pride seeing my murals.”
The mural on the left of the grand entrance to the museum shows lean stylised figures in various acts of craft making, industry and commerce.
There is boat building, handloom weaving, making of kris and silverware, woodcarving, batik designing, kite-making, commerce and industry.
The mural on the right shows the nation with its ancient roots right up to independence.
It begins with the 12th century Hindu-Buddhist period in north Malaya, Admiral Cheng Ho’s visit to the Malacca Sultanate in 1409, the Hang Tuah-Hang Jebat duel in 1475, the Portuguese attack of Malacca in 1511, the famous Bugis warrior princes of 1720, signing of the Pangkor Treaty in 1874, arrival of the railway in 1886, planting of rubber in the 1900s, the Japanese occupation and Merdeka.
“The brief I received suggested highlighting Malayan history through the various periods beginning from the 15th century to the independence of the nation.
“The late Tan Sri Mubin Sheppard of the National Museum guided me on the way the history and culture were to be presented.”
But while working on the murals, controversy arose.
“I had painted the figures on the left panel in the nude. It was stylistic so there was no exposed genitalia, just the mere outlines of human figures.
“But I was told to paint on clothes. If you look at the left panel, you can see the figures where I added bits of sarong.”
Winning the commission changed Cheong’s life.
He received a letter offering him the job of designing the murals and with it the prize money of RM5,000.
“It was a large sum of money in the 1960s. I can’t tell you how excited I was.
“I used the money to buy a house in Taman Seputeh. When you are poor, having a decent roof over your head is such an important thing.
“Sometimes, it takes something like this to make a difference in a person’s life.”
Life was hard for Cheong, who came to Malaya when he was six years old.
“I was born in Guangzhou in 1932 and only met my father when I arrived in Kuala Lumpur in 1938.”
The Cheongs lived at 22 Petaling Street, above Kwong Swee Loong, a busy haberdashery that his father, Cheong Wai Chor, operated.
The young Cheong, who studied at the nearby Confucian School, had to practise Chinese calligraphy every day under the watchful eye of his father.
And the swirls and definite strokes of Chinese calligraphy had come to define his art style.
“When my father passed away in 1943, our lives took a turn for the worse.”
It was also the time of the Japanese occupation and his schooling was disrupted.
Education was never quite the same after that but it was enough to land him a job as an apprentice artist with the Malayan Film Unit in Bangsar.
“When I did the murals, I did not have any formal art training but I used to be involved with an art group started by an art teacher, Peter Harris.
“It was called the Wednesday Art Group and I picked up a lot there.
“I didn’t have art books and had not attended any art exhibitions. Through this group, I learnt a lot about new developments in the art world.”
Winning the museum mural competition opened doors for Cheong who then worked on a mural at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
“But you know, I don’t really like working on murals. They tend to be restrictive and you have work within a certain boundary.”
Then Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie, the chairman of the National Art Gallery’s board of trustees, recommended Cheong for a year-long travel and study scholarship from the United States Information Service.
“I will always be grateful to him because I was able to study art and travel as well.
“I studied at the Skowhegan school of art in Maine, US, and with some savings from the scholarship, I continued my studies in London.”
Cheong, who is now regarded as one of the finest Malaysian abstract artists, had in the US picked up trends of abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock that helped shaped his art.
“My early brush with Chinese calligraphy contributed to my style, too.”
After returning to Malaya in 1963, he landed a job as a creative director for Rothmans of Pall Mall and went on to be the regional creative director for Rothmans International Asia Pacific until his retirement in 1995.
“But I kept on painting.”
Today, he has over 400 paintings - the National Art Gallery has 23 of his pieces - and has executed over 10 pieces of sculpture, and he also holds a one-man exhibition every year.
“I don’t do sculptures any more since they are time consuming,” says Cheong who is busy with his next art exhibition scheduled for July.
“The works don’t have names, they are works in progress.”
When he is not painting, he enjoys classical music, playing golf and spending time with his music-teacher wife Tan Heng Choo and their two teenage daughters, Yisan and Ruyee.
(Cheong also has an elder daughter, Luping, who is working in London, and a son, Dik Hau, from his first wife, Chung Yun Ai, who died 27 years ago.)
And of course, his teenage daughters never tire of looking out for their father’s name signed on one of the nation’s priceless works whenever they go by Jalan Travers.
New Straits Times