Tourist from China slammed by M'sians for painting her own panda art over Penang street art

A tourist from China has been slammed by Malaysians for painting her own panda artwork over an existing street art mural at Chew Jetty in Penang, Malaysia.

A video of the unauthorised addition to a well-known piece of art was documented by the tourist in her own video uploaded to Xiaohongshu.

The street mural, "Girl on Scooter", was painted by an artist from Malaysia and has been photographed and documented countless times by visitors to the site.

The panda was painted on the scooter's footrest.

Chew Jetty is part of a historic residential area within Penang city.

It became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008.

What woman did

The tourist, who goes by the moniker "狮狮" (Shi Shi), which means lion, said in Mandarin in her video: "I feel that this artwork on the wall is not bad, so I drew a panda on it."

Her video showed one person, believed to be a vendor in the area, stepping forward to stop her from carrying out her painting initially.

The person was later sighted standing at a corner, watching her paint.

The tourist also gave out little panda souvenirs to onlookers, saying that the gesture helped her complete the drawing successfully.

Justified her actions

The video, likely shot by another person accompanying the tourist, showed passers-by stopping to gawk at her in action.

The passers-by appeared impressed, but likely did not know that she was not commissioned to paint on the existing artwork.

The tourist said she got to speak to people around her who wanted to find out more about Sichuan and Chongqing in China as they noticed her painting the panda, which is China's national animal.

She eventually posed with her finished work.

Malaysians react

In response to the video, online commenters who are likely Malaysians, slammed the woman and her actions, labelling what she had done as "vandalism".

Some commented that she is "challenging" Malaysia's law, while another said, "This is Penang's cultural heritage. Unauthorised graffiti should be subjected to penalties under the law."

Another commenter said no matter how well-painted the panda artwork, it is still "vandalism."

There are others who felt that her actions are fine as long as she sought permission from the house owner.

Malaysia authorities have yet to respond to the incident on Nov. 10, according to Sin Chew Daily.

The street art in Penang became a significant attraction after the George Town Festival in 2012, which commissioned the murals and art installations.

The Chew Jetty is a collection of water villages established by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century.

The area is the largest and most visited of the clan jetties.

Top photos via via 狮狮