I find it amusing that people think those photo touts (as I have mentioned in my previous blog entry) are anything new. They have been around for so long, and the authorities have been battling them, you can easily find news coverage on this topic by Googling "photo touts Malaysia", you can find hundreds of matches dating years back. It is just strange that suddenly this made headlines in news portals outside of Malaysia, suddenly claiming that these are "street photographers" that the government has deemed illegal and tried to crack down in recent times. No, these photo touts are nasty, they deserved the harshest punishment possible and I am glad the authorities are stepping up their enforcement. However, myself and many street photographers out there, we still love to do what we do, and this news causing so much confusion had nothing to do with street photography!
I still do regular street shooting sessions, not as frequently as I'd like, but I do as much as I can. Typically I would go out on the weekends, since most of my friends have Monday to Friday day jobs. We usually go out in a small group, around 4-5 people the most, and we roam around the streets of Kuala Lumpur, aiming our cameras at whatever interesting subjects we can find. If I do intend to shoot people close up, I will approach and ask for permission. Most of the time it is an easy yes, people in Malaysia are mostly friendly, but sometimes we do get a little rejection there and here and that is perfectly fine too. No means no, and we do not cause trouble. Some people are just shy to have their photos to be taken.
The street shooting session normally lasts around 2-3 hours, sometimes shorter, depending on the weather, there are days it is just too hot to stay out being exposed by the cruel sun for too long. Most of these excursions are also a form of social activity, we get together with like-minded people and bounce ideas around, forming ideas for the next project shoot, or exchange thoughts on the latest cameras and lens releases in the market. The aim is to have fun - fun shooting around the streets, getting some nice street shots, and fun hanging out with friends. Seriously, what harm can street photography do? As photographers we are taught to observe, and not cause a scene. We capture the story, not make the story!
Following up the photo touts story, it seems like the local city council has also wrongly labelled these touts and street photographers. I have seen posters and online announcements made in their official social media platforms, addressing concerning issues about "street photographers" around KLCC areas. Maybe the overseas news portals just copied directly what was announced in these pages and made into the headlines - street photographers are now being banned in Malaysia. It is strange to observe this happening, because these photo touts have been operating for years, the local news have reported them as photo touts, why sudden change of terminology and call them street photographers?
This simple miss-step can cause massive confusion - is street photography being disallowed in Malaysia? Can tourists come in and take photographs on the street while visiting in Malaysia? Will they get into trouble if they take out their cameras and shoot some nice shots of the KLCC Twin Towers? Now that it is deemed "illegal" and government is "cracking down street photographers"? All this makes zero sense, I expect the local authorities to do better in properly describing the photo touts and not misrepresent the street photographers, who are totally innocent here!
The confusion can happen when the security guards at certain locations were briefed by certain management that took the announcement at face value - all photographers found on the street are illegal and need to face the law. Yes, things can quickly spiral out of control if the government themselves are not clear of what they are doing, or asking people to do. Someone up there needs to be responsible in cleaning all this mess up.
As for me, there is little effect or consequence here for us, we continue to shoot on the streets, life goes on. Thankfully my street photography grounds rarely intersect with the popular tourist hotspots. I stay off areas with a lot of tourists, and focus on locations where the locals go to. I am not doing any projects that require the presence of tourists or foreigners, my street photography revolves around ordinary lives of local Malaysian folks going through their daily routines - capturing a slice of reality I observe on the streets.
Shutter therapy goes on, and hopefully, the drama does not get worse than this!
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