Lutfi Bin Semarluki (21A06)

‘Melentur buluh biar dari rebungnya’ – this Malay idiom which means to nurture and instill knowledge from young, aptly reflects the experience of Lutfi, an alumnus of Jurong Pioneer Junior College (JPJC). With his love for the Malay Language which he developed since young and a curiosity to find out more about his roots, Lutfi knew that he wanted to pursue his passion by joining the Malay Language Elective Programme (MLEP) in JPJC.

Lutfi’s passion for the language and culture began from a young age at home. “My mother used to encourage me to read Malay storybooks and I developed a strong love for reading. I really enjoyed reading Malay novels since then. She also guided me to write Malay compositions,” Lutfi fondly recalls. He went on to take up the Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS) in his secondary school including Malay Literature which was a rarity even among students taking Higher Malay. Having done well in his O Levels, he decided to continue pursuit of his passion, choosing JPJC for its prestigious MLEP. “I did not want to stop my fun experience of learning more about my own roots. I wanted to continue in junior college,” Lutfi explains.

His love for the Malay Language and culture continued to blossom in JPJC where he was given ample opportunities to be part of various cultural and academic activities. With strong academic results and leadership qualities, Lutfi clinched the coveted MLEP Scholarship and was selected as the President of MLEP. As the President, he was tasked to lead his cohort in various Malay language and cultural activities and events, amidst a pandemic-disrupted curriculum. Although many activities had to be scaled down due to the pandemic and social restrictions, Lutfi cherished the opportunities given to deepen his passion in the subject. In early 2021, the MLEP orientation session on Zoom helped him to connect with other MLEP students from other schools. He also had the interesting opportunity to ‘travel’ to Malaysia and Indonesia at the end of his first year in JPJC through a three-day online camp via Zoom where he learnt more about the Malay culture and history. The MLEP students also had a zoom session with a Malay community living in Australia. Despite the unique mode of the immersion programme, it was a memorable experience for Lutfi as he became the host and moderator for one of the sessions, and it provided him with a truly unique experience.

As the MLEP President, he assisted his teachers-in-charge to organise weekly MLEP sessions and proactively gathered feedback to better plan and improve future MLEP sessions within the college. According to his MLEP teacher, Cikgu Siti Khadijah, “Lutfi was very efficient and responsible and very open to feedback, both from his teachers and friends. Above all, he was a humble leader who always underplays the role that he had played in ensuring projects and events ran smoothly.” Lutfi’s leadership qualities were also evident in his second year in the programme. When restrictions slowly eased, Lutfi led the MLEP cohort in organising a theater production entitled ‘Puisi Cinta Untukmu’ (‘Poetry of Love for You’). His cohort organised every aspect of the production – from the script, costume, make-up, music and more. Lutfi worked closely with the drama instructor on the script and also took on the role of the lead actor in the production. The immersive experience of managing all the different aspects involved in such a production provided his peers and him rich experiential learning beyond textbooks and the classroom. Overall, overseeing the theatre production provided an invaluable experience for him.

His foray into Malay performance arts also did not stop there.  During the graduation event for MLEP students, the ‘Wisuda’, he also led the MLEP cohort in JPJC in a poem recitation, which he enjoyed tremendously. Indeed, the many opportunities given truly enabled him to further appreciate and deepen his love for the language and culture. His MLEP teacher, Cikgu Siti Atiqah, saw Lutfi’s deep appreciation and passion, “His love for the Malay Language, Literature and Culture was very apparent in the classroom as he often participated in class discussions with a lot of enthusiasm. He has always been a good role model for others as he was such a diligent student.”

While deepening his appreciation and interest for his mother tongue and culture, Lutfi also invested time to hone his other competencies. A highly driven learner, his efforts paid off when he received the Edusave Merit Bursary Award in 2021. He was also actively involved in the college’s Football Team, where he demonstrated excellent team spirit at looking after his team members' welfare by checking in with them regularly to see how they were coping in the CCA as well as their school work. He fostered good relationships not just with those in his CCA but also his classmates. Lutfi played a critical role as a peer supporter, a role that he thought was important given how the pandemic could impact his peers psychologically and emotionally. Sharing how the pandemic had impacted the class, “It was difficult for group activities to be held given restrictions and most activities were thus done via zoom. The class was also quite divided and everyone basically kept to themselves.” Despite this challenge, he took it upon himself to get to know his classmates and shared with his civics tutor when he saw the need to. “Lutfi was very well-liked by his classmates. He took his peer supporter role very seriously and was much attuned to the needs of his classmates,” shared Mr Augustine Ng, Lutfi’s Civics Tutor. The class eventually warmed up to each other and helped each other through the challenging A-level examination period. His strength in building rapport and providing support came to the play once again when he stepped up to be an Orientation Group Leader in 2022 for the incoming JC1 students.

A challenging yet exciting experience Lutfi had was when he was involved in teaching the Malay Language to Secondary Two students from River Valley High School who were learning it as a third language as part of a MLEP Values in Action project. He demonstrated innovativeness through his attempts to keep the energy levels high despite the sessions being conducted over Zoom as he understood the challenges of teaching a new language to young charges online. That impactful episode fuels his desire to become a Malay teacher and sharing this passion with younger generations. He reasons, “I really feel that knowing more about one’s roots and language is important. Singapore is a multiracial country and mother tongue is an important aspect of our lives. We should celebrate this uniqueness and be proud of our culture and identity. Knowing more about our community is also important.” Lutfi notes how he has gleaned a lot of insights about the Malay community from reading Malay literature such as novels by his favourite author, Suratman Markasan. “Novels like ‘Batas Langit’ (‘Sky’s Limit’) by Mohamed Latif Mohamed which shares the struggles of different families in Singapore and highlight various community issues also provide important lessons,” he opines.  

Lutfi’s decision to pursue teaching was also motivated by his MLEP teachers’ care and dedication for students in the programme, “Cikgu Siti Khadijah constantly puts in efforts to know her students inside out and emphasises on our well-being. I really am grateful to have her as one of my MLEP teachers.  Cikgu Siti Atiqah has also inspired me as she is patient and makes sure that her students understands what she teaches. She makes lessons interesting by using acronyms which help us remember certain concepts in Malay Language and Literature. She always motivates me to improve and do better.” Clearly, such inspirational role modelling from his teachers has shaped his choice of career path. As an ‘ambassador’ of the Malay language and culture, Lutfi hopes to set a good example for the younger generations and hopes to sow the seeds of love for the language and culture in his students in the future.