Iskandar Jalil, my Victoria School Classmate

Leave a comment

A significant event for me during my present six weeks’ stay in Singapore is the meeting up of my long lost classmate, Iskandar Jalil, from the class of Form Five S of Victoria School way back in the year 1958. We have not seen one another since then when we were both young men of eighteen.

Below is the photograph of the class he showed me:

As I look at the photograph, the names of the classmates and teachers came flooding back into memory. Teachers De

There were teachers there - DeSusha (Music), Williams (Mathematics), Gay Wan Hin (Geography), Principal Boey, Nazareth (History), Goon (Physics) and three others the names escaping me.

Some of the classmates I can recognize from the photograph are Iskandar Jalil, Tao Hai Sin, Loy Teck Juan, Ho Cheow Kuang, Tan Choo Haw, Fook Jin, Teo Yong, Armajit Singh, Tan Wee Kiat, Png Chong How, Peter Sung, Mun Chor Seng, Han Sin Kwang, and Tan Im Leong.

I know from google search that:

Peter Sung

from http://www.trainingedgeasia.com/team/peter-sung/

Peter Sung was a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and National Development with over 20 years of experience. He was also a Member of Parliament, Ambassador to the Philippines and Executive Chairman of several public listed companies.

Prior to joining the Government of Singapore, Mr Sung had a varied career in the private sector where he was involved in personnel, sales, marketing and corporate planning. In addition, he assumed senior management positions in many sectors including petroleum, construction, manufacturing, trading, property, hotel management and IT.

Peter holds a First Class Honours in Economics from the National University of Singapore and a Certificate in Education from the Teachers’ Training College.

Tan Choo Haw

from http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=22743044&privcapId=22000632&previousCapId=26557107&previousTitle=MEC%20RESOURCES%20LTD

Tan Choo Haw serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Thiss Technologies Pte Ltd. Mr. Haw serves as Managing Director of United Surveyors Pte Ltd and Enfield Pte Ltd.
Iskandar Jalil

from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_267_2005-01-13.html

Iskandar Jalil (b. 5 January 1940, Singapore–) is an eminent local ceramist who uses fine clay to develop bowls and pots into artworks, integrating Japanese and Islamic styles. Iskandar was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 1988.

Then, there are others I have some recollections of. Loy Teck Juan was a newspaper reporter of Sin Jeow Rit Pao, for instance, and Ho Jeow Kwang who is by now a retired school teacher, I believe.

But here I want to talk about the humble Iskandar whom I met at his Tamasek Potters Studio along Tampines Avenue 1 and at his home at Jalan Kembangan.
He walks slowly now and he talks about his pottery experiences. He is perhaps the first Malay, if not the first Singaporean who was qualified to enter a Japanese University to complete his studies in Pottery. He is able to read and write the difficult Japanese Language and his works have the combination of three cultures - Japanese, Malay and of course, Singaporean.
It was in Japan in the 1970’s that he refined his pottery techniques and began to exhibit his works in Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Sweden. Other than producing his artwork pieces he taught at Temasek Polytechnic and at local community centers around the Bedok vicinity. He participated in community projects and had, in 2004, helped fund the Singa Kiln Project in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
His work has also included some wall murals in public spaces like at the MRT Tanjong Pagar Station and at Changi Airport Terminal 2.

In August 2014, Iskandar received the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation award for his contribution to the promotion of Japanese culture in Singapore. Over the last two decades, he has taken more than 200 pottery students to Japan to nurture their interests in ceramic art and given them a chance to experience Japanese culture.

Published on Nov 26, 2015

A seven-minute video interview made in November 2015 with master potter Iskandar Jalil in action as he talks about Zen and the art of pottery and motorcycles.

Published on Sep 23, 2015

This video is about master potter Iskandar Jalil solo exhibition at Japan Creative Centre. Still images captured on SONY RX10ii.

tagged with , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.