DEKLARASI PUNCAK PURNAMA

SENIMAN MEMBANTAH PEROBOHAN ARCA “PUNCAK PURNAMA”

SENIMAN NEGARA DATUK SYED AHMAD JAMAL

“The international community recognizes the importance of the protection of cultural heritage and reaffirms its commitment to fight against its intentional destruction in any form so that such cultural heritage may be transmitted to the succeeding generations.” (1)

UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, 2003

Insiden perobohan arca “Puncak Purnama” karya Seniman Negara Allahyarham Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal pada 1 Julai 2016 merupakan satu titik hitam sejarah seni rupa Malaysia. Karya seni ini telah dibina pada tahun 1986 merupakan arca awam yang bersejarah dan menjadi salah satu tanda kebudayaan dan kesenian kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysa.

Ini adalah insiden kedua terjadi dan pada kali pertama, arca ini telah diubah suai oleh Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur tanpa merujuk kepada pengkarya asal, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal dan telah dibawa ke mahkamah pada tahun 2000.

Insiden ini ternyata bertentangan dengan Deklarasi Organisasi Untuk Pendidikan, Saintifik dan Kebudayaan Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (Unesco PBB) pada tahun 2003, yang memperuntukkan kepentingan pemeliharaan warisan budaya (2). Deklarasi Unesco 2003 berkenaan “Kemusnahan Dengan Sengaja Terhadap Warisan Budaya” mengenalpasti kepentingan perlindungan warisan budaya dan komitmen badan itu untuk menentang sebarang bentuk tindakan memusnahkan warisan budaya tersebut agar ianya dapat diwariskan untuk generasi mendatang (3).

Kami selaku seniman dan penggerak budaya membantah tindakan perobohan ini kerana ia dilakukan tanpa ada perundingan dan persefahaman di antara dua agensi kerajaan yang terlibat iaitu Balai Seni Visual Negara dan Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.

1. Kami mendesak supaya adanya campurtangan dan pendirian dari pihak Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan Malaysia sebagai kementerian yang berkuasa penuh berhubung dengan kesenian dan kebudayaan tempatan.

2. Insiden ini adalah kesan kecuaian pihak yang tidak prihatin dengan perkara hakcipta dan hak moral seniman. Kami menuntut agar hak-hak seniman dan karya-karyanya dihargai oleh pihak berkuasa dan penggubal undang-undang di Malaysia. Kami berharap kejadian seperti ini tidak akan berlaku lagi di masa hadapan.

3. Kami juga menyeru kerajaan Malaysia agar menandatangani Kovenan Antarabangsa Hak-hak Ekonomi, Sosial dan Budaya, Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu. Fasal 15 kovenan ini memperakui hak setiap orang untuk memperoleh manfaat dari perlindungan atas kepentingan moral dan material yang timbul dari karya ilmiah, sastera atau seni yang telah diciptakannya (4).

4. Balai Seni Visual Negara perlulah dihormati sebagai penaung kesenian negara. Sebarang keputusan sama ada untuk memulihara, mengubah dan melupus sebarang artifak dan karya seni awam hendaklah dirujuk dan tertakluk di dalam bidang kuasa yang ada pada Akta Lembaga Pembangunan Seni Visual Negara 2011 dan Akta Warisan Kebangsaan 2005 (5).

5. Kami menyeru agar pihak Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur melantik satu lembaga penasihat khas berkaitan dengan perkara kesenian yang terdiri daripada wakil Balai Seni Visual Negara, seniman dan pereka mapan, budayawan dan tenaga akademik dari universiti tempatan untuk bekerjasama di dalam perancangan berkenaan dengan kesenian dan kebudayaan.

6. Kerjasama dan saling bergantungan di antara seniman dan pihak berkuasa di dalam memahami konsep “kesenian dan warisan” akan memberi nilai kepada lanskap kota. Secara tidak langsung, ini menjadikan Kuala Lumpur sebagai sebuah bandaraya yang kaya dengan estetika kesenian untuk masa hadapan.

(1) UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, 2003

(2) Declaration for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Organization (Unesco PBB) 2003

(3) UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, 2003

(4) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 15

(5) Akta Lembaga Pembangunan Seni Visual Negara 2011 dan Akta Warisan Kebangsaan 2005

Deklarasi ini akan diserahkan kepada:

1) Ahli Parlimen Malaysia

2) Kementerian Pelancongan Dan Kebudayaan Malaysia

YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz

3) Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM)

Tan Sri Razali Bin Ismail

4) Malaysian National Commission For UNESCO

Hon. Dato’ Seri Mahdzir Khalid

____________________________________________________________________________

ENGLISH VERSION

PUNCAK PURNAMA DECLARATION

ARTISTS PROTEST AGAINST THE DEMOLITION OF NATIONAL LAUREATE ARTIST SYED AHMAD JAMAL’S “PUNCAK PURNAMA”

“The international community recognizes the importance of the protection of cultural heritage and reaffirms its commitment to fight against its intentional destruction in any form so that such cultural heritage may be transmitted to the succeeding generations.” (1)

UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, 2003

The abrupt demolition of “Puncak Purnama”, the public sculpture work by National Laureate artist Allahyarham Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal on 1st July 2016 is deemed as a dark episode in the history of Malaysia’s visual arts. The sculpture was built in 1986 and considered as a historical and cultural icon for all Malaysians.

This is the second time tragic fate fell on “Puncak Purnama”. The first time happened when the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) altered the ceramic glass to stainless steel without the consent of Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal. The artist then sued DBKL in 2000.

This incident is a clear violation of the Declaration of the Organization for Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco UN) in 2003, which provides for the preservation of cultural heritage (2). Unesco Declaration of 2003 on "Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage" recognizes the importance of the protection of cultural heritage and reaffirms its commitment to fight against its intentional destruction in any form so that such cultural heritage may be transmitted to the succeeding generations (3).

We, as artists and cultural activists, strongly protest this demolition as it was done without prior consultation and understanding between the two Government agencies involved, The National Visual Arts Gallery and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

1) We urge the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia to step in and make a stand as the Ministry fully responsible in matters involving Malaysian culture and arts.

2) This incident was caused by negligence of certain parties to fully understand the artists’ copyrights and moral rights. We demand the rights of artists and their works to be appreciated by authorities and lawmakers in Malaysia. We also hope that such incidents will never happen again in the future.

3) We also urge the Government of Malaysia to sign the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 15 of said covenant fully recognises the right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author (4).

4) The National Visual Arts Gallery must be respected as patron of the arts in the country. Any decision on whether to conserve, modify and dispose of any artifacts and works of public art should require consultation and is subject to the jurisdiction of the National Visual Arts Development Board Act 2011 and the National Heritage Act 2005 (5).

5) We urge the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to appoint a special advisory board related to the arts, comprising representatives from the National Visual Arts Gallery, established artists and designers, culturalists and academics from local universities to cooperate in plannings involving arts and culture.

6) The cooperation and interdependence between artists and authorities in understanding the concept of "arts and heritage" would bring value to the city landscapes. Indirectly, this would also make Kuala Lumpur a city rich in arts aesthetics in the future.

(1) UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, 2003

(2) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Declaration 2003

(UNESCO UN)

(3) UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage, 2003

(4) United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 15

(5) National Visual Arts Development Board Act 2011 and National Heritage Act 2005

This Declaration will be delivered to

1) Members of Parliament of Malaysia

2) Ministry Of Tourism And Culture Malaysia

YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Bin Abdul Aziz

3) The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM)

Tan Sri Razali Bin Ismail

4) Malaysian National Commission For UNESCO

Hon. Dato’ Seri Mahdzir Khalid