KUALA LUMPUR – Experienced rooftopper Angela Nikolau was taken to task on Twitter by netizens who reminded her that she had disrespected the law when she trespassed the yet-to-be-completed Merdeka 118, the world’s second tallest building, to scale to its top.
This comes following Nikolau’s recollection of her attempt to ascend the tower during which, she said, she was detected by the Merdeka 118 security, forcing her to halt the climb for about 20 hours.
In the Twitter thread, the 29-year-old Russian daredevil also said that she respects the laws of each country that she visits, but admitted that she sometimes had to trespass into compounds to perform her stunt.
She stressed that even though she sometimes trespasses, she takes special care not to cause any damage to anything, which other roofers sometimes do.
“My goal is to create memorable art by capturing the moments of the world’s tallest buildings,” she said.
10/ I respect laws of every country. Even what I do is trespassing sometimes, I took special care not to cause any damage to anything, which other roofers sometimes do. My goal is to create memorable art by capturing the moments of world’s tallest buildings.
— Angela Nikolau (@AngelaNikolau_) January 5, 2023
While many praised and lauded her for the feat, her post also drew flak from local netizens who reminded her that what she did was still illegal.
Replying to Nikolau’s tweet, @antaintiom said that she must consider the international saga that could take place if anything untoward happened during her stunt.
“If you dropped dead, then it’s a whole different issue! Imagine the uproar from your country! I hope you’ve left Malaysia or (are) banned from coming here ever again.
“I hope other Asian countries will ban you too. You bring more harm than good,” the user said, adding that “trespassing is still illegal”.
If you dropped dead, then it’s a whole different issue! Imagine the uproar from your country! I hope you’ve left Malaysia or banned from coming here ever again. I hope other Asian countries will ban you too. You bring more harm than good. Btw, trespassing is still ILLEGAL. ?
— 10K (@antaintiom) January 5, 2023
Another Twitter user @Takebeerbro sarcastically said that while English may not be his first language, he believes that Nikolau used the term “respect” wrongly.
“Perhaps it is more accurate to say ‘I selectively obey the laws of every country when it suits me’,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, @mallo9424 told Nikolau to stop justifying her action, which was clearly against the law. The user said that one would not break a law if one respects it.
If you respect the laws, then you wont break it. Stop justifying something that i clearly against the law.
— ????? ? (@mallo9424) January 5, 2023
We are not daft.
User @mYusufRashid called her a “self-proclaimed artist”, remarking that she did not speak about the iconic structure’s architectural attributes and why it was constructed. “You’re a poser. Not an artist,” @mYusufRashid wrote.
As a self proclaimed artist, you didn’t even mention about the architectural design, the story about when and why it was built. You just went; “wah tall building. I climb now like kingkong and get kingkong airplane spinning around me footage.” You’re a poser. Not an artist.
— AJØ (@mYusufRashid) January 5, 2023
In her interview with The Vibes, Nikolau said that scaling the RM5 billion tower, located near the iconic Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, was a physically and emotionally draining experience and was the hardest thing she has ever done in her life.
Nikolau became the first woman not working in the project to scale Merdeka 118 when she successfully reached the top of the 679m-tall tower last week together with her partner Ivan Beerkus.
A photo of the daredevil couple was uploaded on online forum SkyscraperCity.com on December 27, before the duo confirmed their stunt two days later through Instagram posts featuring footage of them on the peak of the tower’s spire.
Both Nikolau and Beerkus are now under Malaysian police investigation for trespassing on private property.
The Vibes had reported Nikolau as refuting police’s earlier suspicion that the visuals of her adventure up on the tower could have been fake and graphically manipulated.
She said the multiple clips uploaded by her and Beerkus on should have been sufficient evidence of the authenticity of their climb.
Nikolau added that looking at her years-long experience in extreme scaling, it would have been odd for her to lie about the matter, jeopardising her long-established credibility. – The Vibes, January 5, 2023
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