The story of Conda the Clown and his feline sidekick

KUALA LUMPUR: Street performers like Nazri Aziz and Fauzin Saihani have long been a mainstay in bustling Kuala Lumpur and are part of the live informal entertainment scene ubiquitous in many major cities throughout the world.

Nazri, 46, puts on heavy make-up nearly every day to transform into Conda the Clown and spends the entire day eking out a living entertaining people on the sidewalks of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman during the weekends and at Merdeka Square during the weekdays.

His friend, part-time street performer Fauzin, 34, makes a 148km journey from Melaka to join him during the weekends, which he spends almost entirely inside a giant cat mascot suit, all in the name of entertaining people.

“We are street performers; our job is to entertain people.

“Many parents come, children dance with us, and we all have great fun,” Fauzin said with a laugh.

He added that he has never grown tired of wearing his thick cat mascot outfit from day till night, even in the hot weather.

Nazri’s days as a clown stretch back to 2016, when he turned to street performing as a part-time gig to supplement his income as an airline caterer.

“What I earned really wasn’t great at all, so I did it as a part-time thing; I helped people sell gas balloons at night markets, and on average, I would earn about RM50 from 5pm to 10pm a night.

“At that time, I only knew how to make balloon swords, so I went to google up other clowns to expand my knowledge, and as luck would have it, I met a clown from Banting, Selangor, who was kind enough to become my mentor,” he related to Bernama as he sat along the pavement by Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman recently.

Nazri added fondly that his mentor never charged him a single sen for all the guidance, advice and lessons.

Then in 2019, he took the plunge to become a clown full-time, quitting his 23-year career in catering after the airline offered a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) that year.

“I really considered the offer, as the economy then wasn’t that good. So I took the VSS, and this has been my career ever since,” he said, adding that he ended up being one of those affected by the uncertain economic conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even though the airline later offered Nazri his old job back, he chose to continue as a clown entertainer because he has a deep interest in it.

The man behind the face of Conda the Clown also shared that the most expensive accessory for a clown would be his oversized shoes, which can cost up to RM1,000 a pair.

This fun clown, his mascot cat friend, and a bunch of other street entertainer friends of theirs that make up an informal street performing troupe can usually be found making people smile and laugh along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman on weekends and spreading joy and fun at Merdeka Square on weekdays.