TONY Pua surprised quite a few people when he presented an oil painting depicting the infamous Sheraton meeting for display at an art exhibition marking the 80th birthday of DAP elder Lim Kit Siang.

Until the unveiling of Langkah Sheraton at Theatre Impian in Bukit Jalil, few had suspected that the Damansara MP could paint.

The painting features Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former prime minister Najib Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, to name but a few of the political bigwigs at the gathering that would result in the toppling of a government.

Pua said he was asked to contribute a painting to the exhibition in 2018, but he declined due to time constraints. However, following the collapse of Pakatan Harapan followed by the Covid lockdowns, he suddenly found himself with plenty of free time.

“I was asked to contribute a painting to the 100 painting collection to commemorate Lim Kit Siang’s 80th birthday. That was in 2018 when I was still working with the Minister of Finance. So that was impossible,” he said.

“However, fortuitously, Harapan was brought down by a backdoor government in February 2021 and a lockdown was imposed in March.  

“Suddenly I had time to paint, and obviously the biggest event that enveloped not just me, but all Malaysians, was the Sheraton Move. It was a major historical milestone for Malaysia and I believe that the story needed to be told,” he said.

“How it was to be told was perhaps inspired by The Last Supper, where the actions and expressions of the apostles across the dinner table in the famous painting told the story of what was about to happen – betrayal and tragedy.”

Pua was talking about Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th century painting, which shows Jesus breaking bread with his apostles before he was betrayed by one of them for 30 pieces of silver. 

“The painting (is my) historical record of what took place during the Sheraton Move, especially as a semi-insider observing the shenanigans taking place,” he said.

Attempting to paint 15 heads on canvas proved to be a big challenge and learning experience for Pua.

For tips, Pua turned to YouTube and Malaysian contemporary artist Marvin Chan, whom he admires.

“The last piece of oil painting I did was when I was 15 or 16. The last time I did a quick painting in acrylic (for charity) was some four or five years ago.  So I was very rusty, and I had to learn and re-learn very quickly.

“In fact one or two months into the painting, I was wondering if I had taken on too monumental a task right away, instead of starting with some practice with less ambitious, smaller artwork.

“The painting has 15 heads, and the thing about a painting like this is, you can have 14 good heads but just one badly drawn or painted one and the painting will be massively flawed.  

“Also with a single head portrait, it doesn’t matter what size you draw the head. But with 15 heads, the need to be realistically proportional depending on the position and perspective. It’s the same for colour toning,” he said.

With Pua working eight hours a day on it on some days, the 121cm x 152cm,painting took 10 months to complete,

“The elapsed time was just about 10 months.  Some weeks are more intense when I’ll paint six to eight hours a day. But some weeks were idle, especially when my political responsibilities took over, like spending a month in Sabah for the state election.”

Roar talent

Painting is not quite a hidden talent of Pua’s as his school friends and those in his close circle know of his artistic skills.

“All my friends who knew me in school knew I could paint. A small circle knew I could somewhat paint due to the charity auction piece I did a few years back

“But I’ve not really painted for decades, so there’s really no reason for anyone to know that I could paint.

“I’ve done very simple sketches now and then. This includes the cover for my book The Tiger That Lost Its Roar, in 2011.”

Langkah Sheraton will not be the last painting from Pua. The lawmaker intends to continue painting when time permits.

“Yes, I certainly hope to paint more, but will for now be very much subjected to work.  The MCO gave me a window to do this which would otherwise not be available under normal circumstances.”

Langkah Sheraton and nearly 100 other paintings and artwork are available for viewing at Theatre Impian in Aurora Place.

The artwork on display showcases Lim’s struggle and triumphs as a prominent opposition figure for almost six decades.

“This is a permanent exhibition, hence the painting is expected to be on display for a while.  

“As to its longer term future, it’s not decided yet.  Although I did joke with some friends that if anyone could contact Jho Low (Low Taek Jho), they could let him know that I could settle for less than what he paid for all his other art pieces.”

As for Lim’s reaction to the painting, Pua said “Err… I’m not sure. LOL.” – April 4, 2021.