Abdul Ghani Abdul Hamid

Abdul Ghani Abdul Hamid (b.1933, Singapore), an award-winning writer, poet and artist, has contributed to the Malay literature and the arts in Singapore since his schooldays. Writing primarily in Malay, he has hundreds of poems, short stories, essays, newspaper articles and plays to his name. As a painter, he has participated in more than 60 exhibitions since 1950. He is the founding member of Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (APAD) (Artists of Various Resources) and the recipient of three prestigious literary awards: the Anugerah Tun Seri Lanang (1998), the Southeast Asia Write Award for Malay Poetry (1998), and the Cultural Medallion (1999).

Early Life
A. Ghani Hamid (b. 1933, Singapore), as he is commonly known, was educated in both the Malay and English streams, firstly at Telok Kurau English School followed by Raffles Institution. As a student, he wrote compositions and kept a journal, and in Raffles Institution, he progressed to contributing poems and articles to Malay newspapers and magazines. He recalled how he would walk from his school, Raffles Institution (located at Bras Basah then), to a Malay publishing house nearby at North Bridge Road to collect his payment of $5 for each of his weekly work published. It was also in Raffles Institution that he had his first art exhibition as part of the Youth Festival.

Upon graduation, he went on to hold a full-time job as a clerk with the Public Utilities Board for 33 years. Despite working full-time and becoming a father of four children, he managed to write during his free time, normally between nine in the evening to midnight on weekdays. On weekends, he would attend to his other love, painting. His literary and artistic efforts resulted in a series of deeply metaphysical poems and abstract paintings. As A. Ghani says, "When I get tired of writing, I paint. And when I get tired of painting, I write." Hence, it was not unusual for his writing and painting to have similar subjects and even titles.

Multi-talented artist
Other than writing and painting, he was an active member in the local artistic arena. In 1962, he founded the Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (APAD ) (Association of Artists of Various Resources) with its motto "Secita Mencipta" (Together We Create). APAD has achieved much success under his leadership, guidance, wisdom and unselfish devotion to the association.

He was also the creator of a comic strip in the 1970s. Called Mat Dalang, the comic strip appeared in the Sunday Berita Minggu newspaper and Malay magazines, under the pen name of Lazuardi.

Undaunted by difficulties that came his way, he once said, "writers and entrepreneurs need to make sacrifices, if they want Malay literature to reach greater heights. One cannot be thinking of returns all the time." It was with this mindset that he sacrificed his Tun Sri Lanang award cash prize of $7,000 to publish his play Wak Cantuk.

In 1998, after braving the literary scene for 50 years since 1948, A. Ghani Hamid was awarded the Anugerah Tun Sri Lanang by the Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura (Singapore Malay Language Council).

He is now living out his retirement in his Tampines flat where he devotes most of his time to his artistic pursuits. Occasionally, he would travel to his second home in Serkam, Malacca, where away from the hustle and bustle of the urban Singaporean crowd, he gets his inspiration for more of his art works and writings. His recent appoinment include member of the National Arts Council, from 2000 to 2002.

Achievements/Awards
1948 : First articles and poems appeared in Hiboran magazine.
1964 : First anthology of poems, Jalinan Rasa (Weave of feelings).
1973 : First poem in English appeared in The New Nation.
1996 : His poem, Nilai (Values), displayed in Poems On the MRT series.
1998 : Awarded the Anugerah Tun Sri Lanang, highest honour in the Malay literary scene.
1998 : Awarded Southeast Asia Write Award for Malay Poetry.
1999 : Awarded Cultural Medallion (Literature).

Works in Malay (unless otherwise stated)
Non-fiction
1960 : Sekilas Pandang Senilukis Dan Perkembangannya (A Glimpse of the Arts and its Development), the definitive book on development of Malay artists in Singapore.
1988 : Mengenang Pak Zubir.
1990 : Kegiatan Kolektif Pelukis-Pelukis Melayu.
1990 : Seni Indah Masjid di Singapura.
1990 : Yaakob Mohamed.
1991 : An Artist's Note (English).
1993 : Pameran.
1994 : Harun Seorang Penulis.
1995 : Kesan Citra.

Novels
1977 : Delima Merah di Jari Manis.
1985 : Desa ini hatiku.

Anthology of Poems
1964 : Jalinan Rasa.
1972 : Mata Dan Hati (English/Malay).
1978 : Breezes: Selected Poems (1973-1978) (English).
1988: Nota.
1995 : Fragmen 40.
1997 : Tawajuh.
1998 : Sepanjang Jalan Ini.
1998 : A Journey With No End (English).

Drama script
1998 : Wak Cantuk.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References 
Jeman Sulaiman. (1988, November 23). Tribute to a national figure. The Straits Times, p. 5.

Launching of art critics book. (1993, July 27). The Straits Times, p.21.

Oon, C. (1999, September 25). Profile-Abdul Ghani Hamid. The Straits Times.

Tuminah Sapawi. (1998, March 12). In tough times, turn to art. The Straits Times.

Tuminah Sapawi. (1999, September 25). Writer, artist given Cultural Medallion. The Straits Times. 

Yaakub Rashid. (1990, September 26). Pioneer leader. The Straits Times, Life, p.9.

Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (Association of Artists of Various Resources). (2000). Breeze 2000: 6th solo art exhibition by Abdul Ghani Hamid. Retrieved on May 12, 2004, from www.apad.org.sg/breeze%202000/breeze%20foreword.htm

National Book Development Council. (n.d.). Singapore Abdul Ghani Hamid. Retrieved on May 12, 2004, from www.nbdcs.org.sg/Writers/AbdulGhani.htm

Singapore Arts, Culture, and Heritage Journey. (n.d.). Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya Association of Artists of Various Resources. Retrieved on May 12, 2004, from www.singaporeartsnculture.com/english/engangkatan.html 



The information in this article is valid as at 2004 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Arts>>Literature>>Malay Literature
Personalities>>Biographies>>Authors>>Cultural Medallion Recipients
Personalities>>Biographies>>Artists>>Cultural Medallion Recipients
A. Ghani Hamid (Abdul Ghani Hamid), 1933- --Biography
Authors, Malay--Singapore--Biography
Artists--Singapore--Biography
Award winners--Singapore--Biography
Language and literature>>Literatures>>East and Southeast Asian literature>>Singapore literature