Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, better known as Zunar is a femes local cartoonist. He is well known for causing controversy with his political cartoons.
Recently, he held a public showing of some of his work at Komtar, Penang a few days ago. The art displayed poked fun and highlighted the recent scandals that plagued the nation such as 1MDB and GST.
This naturally did not sit well with some folk as almost 50 people descended upon Komtar to confront Zunar. They demanded that he tear down his drawings and leave the building.
The mob is led by Penang UMNO Youth chief Rafizal Abdul Rahim and Gabungan Perwakilan Melayu Pulau Pinang chief Rizuad Mohd Azudin, according to Malaysiakini.
They also questioned why Zunar would organize an exhibition that tarnishes the image of the country and of the Prime Minister Najib Razak and his policies.
Zunar without even flinching told the Penang UMNO Youth chief to buzz off refer to the Penang chief minister’s office. The chief minister, Lim Guan Eng has launched the exhibition just hours ago.
You can imagine such a statement did not sit well with the increasingly rowdy gang, who began hurling insults and shouting in Komtar. It got so bad that the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) had to be called in.
The police who arrived not too long after escorted Zunar out whilst the organiser removed the cartoons for reasons of maintaining order and safety.
The mob’s leaders lodged a police report not too long later against Zunar and the Penang state government, which actually got Zunar arrested not too long later.
He was arrested under Section 504 of the Penal Code for intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. Basically like “Sedition Act” la!
However as of the time of writing they have not yet managed to secure a remand order from the courts, it is likely he’ll be released in a few hours.