via New Straits Times, 02 July 2020: Perhaps inspired by recent events involving the Black Lives Matter movement, the statue of Francis Light in Penang was vandalised with red paint. Presumably a protest against colonialism. More stories below.
A statue of the founder of George Town, Captain Francis Light, at Fort Cornwallis here was vandalised by unknown individuals recently.
The statue, which was erected in 1936 to honour his contributions to the state, was found splashed with red paint.
A staff working there told the New Straits Times that they found the statue defaced on Tuesday morning.
“I was here until Monday about 7pm and it was fine. We came the next day and found it splashed with red paint,” he said.
Checks by New Straits Times found that the statue has been cleaned. However, some red paint marks are still visible.
Source: Francis Light statue in Penang defaced by vandals
See also:
- Statue of British coloniser Francis Light splashed with red paint by Penang vandals, police investigating possible BLM motive | Malay Mail, 03 July 2020
- Francis Light statue splashed with red paint | The Star, 03 July 2020
- Francis Light statue in Penang splashed with red paint | Yahoo News, 03 July 2020
- Historian: Keep the statues | New Straits Times, 05 July 2020
