The Brush is Mightier Than the Sword

Orang Asli artist Shaq Koyok is a prominent advocate for the rights of Malaysia's indigenous communities, using visual art to highlight the everyday lives of a people who are pushed to the far fringes of society

- Koyyi Chin

For Orang Asli activist and artist Shaq Koyok, 38, activism wasn’t necessarily a choice, but an act of survival aimed at fighting for a future where present and upcoming generations of Malaysia’s indigenous people can live in their own homeland without fear.

Born into the Temuan tribe of Selangor, Koyok witnessed the devastating deforestation of the Kuala Langat Forest Reserve in both 1993 and 2005, when developers razed more than half of the forest. The Busut Baru village, one of the indigenous tribes that resided in the forest, was forced to relocate twice due to the multiple developments made in the area. Koyok, who was 20 at the time and pursuing a degree in fine arts at University Technology MARA, turned to art with a renewed sense of purpose when he heard the news.

Fast-forward 18 years later, Koyok is now an award-winning artist who has exhibited his work in international galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia, Te Papa Tongarewa (the Museum of New Zealand), and more. Recently, he joined the Borneo Heart KL exhibition as a guest speaker, sharing stories of the Temuan people.

This was a far cry from when he first began as an aspiring artist, who, at a young age, was taught to be wary of the unfamiliar; whether it was ghosts or the outside world, cautionary tales were instilled in Koyok, just so that he would be able to survive.

Present-day Koyok is a different man. “Years of being marginalised and being silenced, intentionally or otherwise, has contributed to the worsening living conditions of the Orang Asli,” he says. “And these are my people—my community. So, to see these injustices go unanswered and to witness their suffering first-hand, I couldn’t just turn a blind eye to them and do nothing, even when I was uncertain and afraid. Change was never made by just sitting on the sidelines.