COMMENT | The incomparable Fahmi Reza

COMMENT | Before Fahmi Reza went for a police investigation for his artwork for the ninth time this year, he managed to do a quick analysis on his computer. He found a correlation between the prime minister’s party and police investigations of his artwork.

When he drew about Najib Abdul Razak and Ismail Sabri Yaakob as prime ministers, he was called in for questioning. When he drew about Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin, however, there were none. Interesting.

Fahmi (above) needs to document these because he is starting to lose count. When he gets a call from the police to investigate his artwork, his first reaction is not fear; instead, he asks “Which one?”.

His investigation counts are high enough he could conduct analyses to find patterns. Every time he marches into the police station, he mentally prepares for intimidation, humiliation, and a potential ordeal of staying for at least 24 hours.

But he’s gotten used to it. Now, every time he leaves, he will take a photo in front of the police station for posterity. He will pose with his signature “V” and tells the police “jumpa lagi next time, apa-apa boleh roger” (see you again next time, call me if anything).

This year is special. Fahmi is one investigation away from hitting the big ten. He has created a police station loyalty card so he could give himself a stamp every time he is called in.

The authorities have tried everything and they are running out of ideas. “They have beaten me up, brutally handled me, put me...