Perhaps, it has become a trend for foreigners to conquer Malaysia’s Merdeka 118, the second tallest building in the world at 679 meters tall.
The tower sets to greet the world in mid-2023. Although everyone is patiently waiting for its opening, some are a bit impatient and make an ‘illegal’ detour on their own.
Picture: Skyscrapers MY
Weird enough, even the locals can’t access the tower, so how can they climb in? Who gave them permission to trespass into the building?
After the Russian couple filmed and shared their experience of entering the Merdeka 118 a few weeks ago, another group of people was doing the same thing!
c proudly shared their experience climbing Merdeka 118 on the internet
According to their Youtube channel, they went to Kuala Lumpur (KL) to climb and photograph the Merdeka 118 building. They uploaded the video on 30 December 2022.
The journey was long, tedious and challenging. Even so, these people didn’t give up. Also, they knew about the consequences other trespassers had to face if caught. It was either prison time or other suitable punishments. Yet, they weren’t afraid to continue.
Picture: Youtube
What infuriates many Malaysians are these people know no respect for the country. While non-Malaysians view this as an incredible journey, the locals believe this is a crime against the nation. Not only that, but Malaysians think trespassers should be punished.
Despite claiming the footage is “an artistic expression of freedom done in and for love,” it’s wrong to normalize crime for art’s sake. We don’t condone such acts in our country.
There is a difference between art for humanity’s sake and art for art’s sake. Judging from the trespasser’s behavior, the ‘art’ they are trying to express isn’t as authentic. Even though they were some of the first to see the beauty of Merdeka 118, they won’t be respected by the locals.
We hope foreigners and Malaysians who visit other countries can show their respect for the place, people, and culture.
Source: YouTube, Twitter SkycrapersMY
