My Friend A.Rashid Razak

One of Rashid's Pastel Potrait paintings.

I am at the Malay Art Gallery run by my friend A.Rashid who is in my mind one of the best potrait painter on this Island of Penang. The Gallery is annexed to the Masjid Kapitan Kling and was at one time used to be the main entrance to the mosque located on Chulia street in the area where one finds Jewellers and money changers, and the famous Nasi Kandar restaurants are located.

At the age of sixteen Rashid was set to become a national soccer player and upon the final team selection his father talked him out of it as a waste of time. Later forcefully inspired by his own father who was also an artist himself Rashid has been an artist most of his life. His father later had a change of heart after being convinced by a friend that rashid would fare better as a customs officer than an artist Rashid was talked out of becoming an artist by his father and forced to join the Malaysian customs services. Not happy with corruption praticed by the rank and files of the Custom department where he was at, Rashid quit the services and returned to his art where he had a gallery in Kuala Lumpur where he later made the acquaintance of Dr. Kriss Hougen a social anthropologist doing a research paper on traditional healers as an alternative treatment progame. Later the Universtiy Sains Malaysia offered Dr. Hougen to do reasearch work for them and Rahid joined in the project. He was later involved in drug and prostitution research program for the Universit Sains Malaysia at one time where he was assigned to do a survey of the local drug scene. According to him this was a very rewarding experience for him having met many drug users and prostitutes and got to know their lives quite personally. He even managed to help a few to turn a new leaf with the help of support groups he became acquainted with in his line of work.

I have come to know Rashid for the past four years now and and our friendship has grown through our mutual appreciation of Art as well as eachother's talents. Rashid has often been the one encuraging me to become a full time artist like himself especially when time were hard for me financially however when I reflect upon his struggles throughout the years to get where he is today it gives me the courage to take the plunge. Rashid has a great propensity for learing through books and whatever other medias that comes his way in order that it will help to imrove his potrrait painting. Now with the availability of the internt and its vasy resources for art related information Rashid is often glued to the screen visiting various sites where potrait artpainting is found.

In his younger days Rashid was a member of the Malay Artist guild know an Anak Alam which was spear headed by the famous malaysian Artist Latiff Mohideen. The Anak Alam residence was at Taman Burung area in Kuala Lumpur. Among those artist who frequented the place was Zulkifli Dahlan, Mustafa Hj. Ibrahim, Yusoff Osman, Mariam and later to joined by the likes of Yusof Gajah and the late Rahime whose works were put on show a few months ago at the USM Muzium Gallery Tuanku Fauziah as a commemoration show.

Of late Rashid has produced a few large pieces for the Univerity of the Malay Rulers of the state of Kedah and Perlis where they fetched quite a handsome price that has eased his financial commitments. His talent as a potrait artist is ever improving and one can see the development from day to day or painting to painting. His dedication and perseverence has paid off handsomely as his name has become known among art collectors and local artists and patrons of the arts.