Pioneers of Singapore
those who haelped shape the nation
Muhammad
Ariff Ahmad
Since young, he wanted to be a writer. He was especially drawn by to the way poem were written. His teacher held a storytelling competition in class. He won and the prize was five cents, which was a lot in those days. Even when he was in the Boy Scouts, the short stories he wrote were turned into sketches and performed at campfires. These made him want to be a writer more.
His father wanted him to be a teacher because it was his dream to be one. Also, a teacher’s monthly salary was stable and his father felt it could help provide for the family. He went to kampong to teach first. And that was where he developed an interest in teaching, from his interactions with these children. At age 24, he got his teaching diploma in Perak, Malaysia, from what is now known as the Sultan Idris University of Education. It awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2006. He also helped in the writing of the Singapore National Anthem.
He is now 89. His wife Sarinah Haniff, 84, is a retired teacher. They have two sons and two daughters, between the ages of 49 and 60. But only the third child, Ms Shahrulbariah, 51, has followed in her parents’ footsteps. She is a primary school teacher. Today, he gives advice on literature, language and culture every week in a column in Berita Minggu, a Sunday Malay newspaper.