Did Amelia Earhart land in Taiping? Social media users raise issue over mural

IPOH: Questions are being raised on social media about a mural featuring Amelia Earhart with people saying that she did not stop at Taiping to refuel in her attempt to fly solo around the world.

Perak Heritage Association secretary Nor Hisham Zulkiflee said that Earhart had only sought permission earlier to land at the Tekah Aerodrome in Taiping.

He said she was flying to Singapore and made the request just in case she needed to refuel.

“However, she never made any stops in Malaysia, and had flown straight to Singapore. We had raised the issue in 2019 when the mural was up, but our input was ignored," said Nor Hisham.

“Historical facts must not be changed, as is something the whole world will be reading about,” he added.

The mural was completed in 2019, and it had made it into the Malaysia Book of Records as "the Biggest Outdoor 3D Mural Painting”.

The 14.6m tall and 27.4m wide mural was painted on the wall of a shophouse at Jalan Abdul Jalil in Taiping.

The grayscale mural was painted by six artists over three months using weatherproof paint as a collaboration between the municipal council and Positive Sign Advertising Sdn Bhd.

During the launching of an arts lane in Ipoh, state Housing, local government and tourism committee chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi was asked about the matter.

Nolee Ashilin said to date, she had yet to receive any official complaint over the issue.

“However I will ask the municipal council to check on the matter, and if there are indeed any contradicting facts, then steps must be taken to rectify it,” she added.

When asked if the municipal council did not check prior to approving the mural on the actual facts, Nolee Ashilin said by right, all information is usually checked first.

“There are various opinions on the authenticity, and that will be looked into,”she added.