THE National Art Gallery has been urged to reinstall four paintings it had removed from an ongoing exhibition, which it alleged were political and obscene.

Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik also called on the gallery to apologise to visual artist Ahmad Fuad Osman.

In a letter to the gallery, Bakhtiar urged its chairman Rashidi Hasbullah to take note of his point of view.

“I have received complaints from many quarters, including MPs, civil society groups and art lovers who have all slammed the gallery as acting for the government to censure creativity.

“Following which, I am urging the gallery to reconsider its decision to remove the paintings and restore the exhibition in its entirety, and issue a letter of apology to the artist with immediate effect,” he said in his letter sighted by The Malaysian Insight.

On February 4, the gallery removed four artworks by Fuad after a board member alleged they were political and obscene.

The four artworks were part of the exhibition: At The End Of The Day Even Art Is Not Important (1990-2019), which opened on October 28. It closes on February 28.

The gallery has defended the removal, saying it was carried out according to procedure, adding it has the right to remove any work “that touches the dignity of any individuals, religion, politics, race, culture, and the country”.

“An exhibition is a continuous process and not a final product, and even if it is ongoing, this process (of deciding) will continue to obtain suitable maturity of patrons and our society,” said gallery managing director Amerruddin Ahmad.

In a statement today, Fuad asked the gallery to explain its decision to remove his paintings.

Bakhtiar also hoped the issue could be solved soon to ensure the gallery’s reputation remained intact, especially when it is about to host the KUL Biennale 2020 event in September.

He also said that the paintings that were removed had actually undergone a vetting process before the exhibition and had been approved, while the exhibition had also been going on for three months without any public complaints.

“The reasons for the removal of the paintings are also unclear and inconsistent with the context of the overall exhibition,” he added.

His letter was also copied to the minister, Mohamaddin Ketapi, and the ministry’s secretary-general Dr Noor Zari Hamat.

Earlier today PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, when asked to comment on the matter, said the government “must be more tolerant”. – February 12, 2020.