'It's not just punk rock, it's punk ideology'
MALAYSIANS KINI Amid the dilapidated shophouses of former tin-mining town of Ampang, one building stands out – its walls painted deep black and bold red, filled with graffiti, while the signboard hanging above is covered in black paint.
On the red and black wall is a drawing of two boys shaking hands. One sports a spiky hairdo, spikes on a black jacket, and gloves; the other more conventionally dressed in a hoody.
Pulling open the shophouse’s metal shutters reveals a black brick wall with six “no’s” painted on it in bold white letters – No racism, no sexism, no homophobia, no drugs, no alcohol, and no violence.
Walk through the wooden door to the left, and one would find a small stage and space for an audience of 300. Since all of the musical instruments have been confiscated by the police last month, the stage lies empty.
To the left and to the right of this room are walls filled with graffiti – an explosion of colours that is muted by the counterculture atmosphere of this dimly lit room.
This is the place run by a group of punks as a performance space, dubbed 'Rumah Api'.
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