‘Soi Lek the trishaw peddler’

PETALING JAYA: The public have given imagination its full scope when appreciating 12 murals in George Town, likening one to MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek on a trishaw.
A Kwang Wah Yit Poh’s journalist from Penang said today that many of his friends from other states took a jibe at him, requesting to see the “Soi Lek the trishaw peddler”.
The journalist said he was initially puzzled by such requests, only to realise later that they were poking fun at the mural in Penang Road which they claimed resembled the MCA chief.
The mural, measuring 15.2m by 15.2m, depicts an elderly trishaw peddler sitting in his vehicle, awaiting customers.
Titled, “The Awaiting Trishaw Peddler”, it was one of 12 murals painted by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, portraying life in the heritage city.
The journalist said his friends have quipped that the Pakatan-led Penang state government had intentionally arranged for the trishaw peddler to be portrayed as Chua.
But according to Zacharevic, the painting was inspired by his encounters in Penang road where peddlers always spent their afternoon sipping coffee while awaiting customers.
The road is the congregation point for many trishaw peddlers on the island.
Besides the trishaw peddler, murals like “Litte Boys with Pet Dinasour” and “Little Children on a Bicycle” have become increasingly popular among tourists.