Ho Kah Leong

Ho Kah Leong (b. 21 September 1937, Singapore–) is a former politician who served as a member of parliament for the Jurong constituency and a parliamentary secretary in various ministries. Besides his political career, Ho is also an amateur artist specialising in oil painting. After his retirement from politics, he joined the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) as its principal from 1997 to 2003.

Education
Ho’s education began at Sin Sheng School and continued onto Chung Cheng High School.¹ He studied in NAFA between 1955 and 1956, and went on to pursue a professional degree, graduating from Nanyang University in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science degree.²

Career
After his graduation, Ho taught at Nan Chiau High School and Chung Hwa Girls’ High School.³ In 1966, He was elected as a member of parliament representing the Jurong constituency, and remained in the position for the next three decades. He also joined the Ministry of Education as a parliamentary secretary and later served in the Ministry of Communications and Information (later renamed Ministry of Information and the Arts) as well as the Ministry of the Environment as a senior parliamentary secretary.⁴ In December 1996, he retired from politics to join NAFA in 1997 as its principal,⁵ an appointment he held until 2003.⁶

Among other commitments, he was also a board member of the Singapore Art Museum and the president of the Singapore Arts Federation.⁷

Artistic practice
A celebrated amateur artist, Ho is well known for his oil paintings on nature and serene Malay kampongs (villages).⁸ He usually paints during weekends, choosing various sceneries as his subject matter, such as Pulau Ubin or nature parks. Going beyond scenery, Ho also does calligraphy.⁹ He has participated in many group exhibitions since 1978 such as the President’s Charity Art Exhibition in October 1997, and has held 14 solo exhibitions.¹⁰

His works are widely collected by government departments and private collectors. Ho used the popularity of his works to raise funds for charity, often donating his paintings for this purpose. The coffee-table volume on his works, Beautiful Lion City: The Art of Ho Kah Leong, was sold to raise funds to upgrade PAP Community Foundation kindergartens.¹¹ He also produced three calendars featuring his paintings for charitable causes such as building funds for the Basketball Association¹² and the Jurong Town Community Centre.¹³

Timeline
1965–1970: Teacher, Nan Chiau High School
1970–1975: Teacher, Chung Hwa Girls' High School¹⁴
Nov 1966–Dec 1996: Member of parliament for Jurong¹⁵
1968–1981: President, Singapore Chinese Middle School Teachers’ Union
1975–1981: General manager, Educational Publications Bureau Pte Ltd
1979: Executive Committee Member, Asian Basketball Confederation
1979–1982: Honorary treasurer, Singapore Consumers’ Club
2 May 1981–1 Jan 1985: Parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Education¹⁶
2 Jan 1985–17 Feb 1986: Senior parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Education¹⁷
18 Feb 1986–27 Nov 1990: Senior parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information¹⁸
1988: Deputy government whip¹⁹
28 Nov 1990–1 Jan 1994: Senior parliamentary secretary, Ministry of Information and the Arts²⁰
1991–1997: President, Basketball Association of Singapore²¹
2 Jan 1994–24 Jan 1997: Senior parliamentary secretary, Ministry of the Environment²²
1997–2003: Principal, NAFA²³
2003–2005: Executive director, NAFA International Pte Ltd²⁴
2005–: Senior consultant, Pioneers & Leaders (Publishers) Pte Ltd²⁵

Solo exhibitions
1990: Nostalgic Scenes, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
1991: Beauty Lion City, NAFA Gallery
1993: Scenes Splendour, NAFA Gallery
1997: Passion for Art: Solo Exhibition of Ho Kah Leong’s Location Painting, SooBin Gallery
2000: Idyllic Nanyang, SooBin Gallery
2001: Idyllic Tropics, Central Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2002: Beauty of Nature, NAFA Gallery
2006: Parks in Garden City, ARTium, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
2007: The Last Kampung of Singapore: Lorong Buangkok, Tembusu Art Gallery
2008: Poetic Ubin, Black Earth Art Museum
2009: Splendour of Lakes and Hills, Tembusu Art Gallery
2011: Rhythm of the Sea, Tembusu Art Gallery
2013: Lion City Rediscovered, Tembusu Art Gallery and Ion Art Gallery²⁶
2015: Exotic Landscapes, Tembusu Art Gallery and The Art Space @ Suntec²⁷

Awards
1981: NTUC Friend of Labour Medal²⁸
2000: Peru Cultural Medal
Aug 2001: Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Philosophy in Arts), Wisconsin International University, United States²⁹

Family³⁰
Father: Ho Foo Sen
Mother: Wong Kaw Moey
Wives: Khoo Choo Eng (d. 1996), Grace Chan Lai Kiew (m. 1997)
Children: One son and three daughters



Author
Sitragandi Arunasalam



References
1. Ministry of Culture, Biographical Notes of the President, Prime Minister and Ministers (Singapore: Publicity Division, Ministry of Culture, 1997), 51 (Call no. RSING 328.59570922 BIO); Leong Weng Kam, “Ho Goes Back To Art School 40 Years Later,” Straits Times, 27 January 1997, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
2. Leong, “Ho Goes Back To Art School 40 Years Later.” 
3. Leong, “Ho Goes Back To Art School 40 Years Later.” 
4. Jurong Journeys, (Singapore: Oracle Works; PAP Jurong Branch, 1996), 42 (Call no. RSING 959.57 JUR-[HIS]); Leong Weng Kam, “Retiring With His Grace,” Straits Times, 30 September 2001, 35. (From NewspaperSG)
5. Leong, “Retiring With His Grace.” 
6. Clara Chow, “Nafa’s ‘Grandad’ Steps Down,” Straits Times, 26 July 2003, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
7. Ministry of Culture, Biographical Notes of the President, Prime Minister and Ministers, 51; “Body Will Still Support Arts,” Straits Times, 17 May 1996, 20 (From NewspaperSG); Low Kar Tiang, ed., Who’s Who in Singapore 2006 (Singapore: Who’s Who Publishing, 2006), 181. (Call no. RSING 920.05957 WHO)
8. Ho Kah Leong, Lion City Rediscovered: Ho Kah Leong En Plein Air Oil Painting Exhibition 2013 (Singapore: Tembusu Art Gallery, 2013). (Call no. RSING 759.95957 HO)
9. Julia Goh, “Drawn to Art by Husband Ho Kah Leong,” Straits Times, 15 August 1991, 22; Tara Tan, “Ubin Scenes on Canvas,” Straits Times, 6 October 2008, 45; Akshita Nanda, “Beauty All Around,” Straits Times, 20 October 2009, 49. (From NewspaperSG)
10. Ho, Lion City Rediscovered.
11. Leong Weng Kam, “Puts Out Art Book to Raise Funds for Kindergartens,” Straits Times, 16 April 1996, 3. (From NewspaperSG)
12. “BAS Boss Leads Fund-Raising,” Straits Times, 17 October 1994, 30. (From NewspaperSG)
13. Leong Weng Kam, “The Artist in the Politician,” Straits Times, 19 August 1993, 6. (From NewspaperSG)
14. Leong, “Ho Goes Back To Art School 40 Years Later.” 
15. Ministry of Culture, Biographical Notes of the President, Prime Minister and Ministers, 51; Rachel Tan, “His Biggest Masterpiece Yet,” New Paper, 21 December 1996, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
16. Ministry of Culture, Biographical Notes of the President, Prime Minister and Ministers, 51.
17. “The New Cabinet,” Straits Times, 1 January 1985, 1; “Six New MPs Promoted,” Straits Times, 17 February 1986, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
18. “Six New MPs Promoted”; “Chok Tong Is PM,” New Paper, 28 November 1990, 7. (From NewspaperSG)
19. Ministry of Culture, Biographical Notes of the President, Prime Minister and Ministers, 51.
20. “Chok Tong Is PM” “Emotions Too Play a Part in Binding Societies: BG Yeo,” (1994, January 2). Straits Times, 2 January 1994, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
21. Low, Who’s Who in Singapore 2006, 181.
22. “Emotions Too Play a Part in Binding Societies: BG Yeo”; Tan, “His Biggest Masterpiece Yet”; Warren Fernandez, “PM Goh and His New Cabinet Sworn In,” Straits Times, 26 February 1997, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
23. Ho, Lion City Rediscovered.
24. Leong Weng Kam, “A Lesson in the Art of Survival for Nafa,” Straits Times, 4 March 2005, 1 (From NewspaperSG); Ho, Lion City Rediscovered.
25. “Vicom in Second Quartile of Singapore Scorecard,” New Bites Pty Ltd., 22 February 2016. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)
26. Ho, Lion City Rediscovered; MP’s paintings in charity calendar. (1990, August 11). The Straits Times, p. 20. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
27. Lawrence Wong, “The Opening of Dr Ho Kah Leong’s Solo Art Exhibition (Exotic Landscape), speech, 17 October 2015, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
28. Low, Who’s Who in Singapore 2006, 181.
29. Ho, Lion City Rediscovered; Leong, “Retiring With His Grace.” 
30. Leong, “Retiring With His Grace.” 

Further resources
A Passion for Painting: An Exhibition of Paintings by Lee Khoon Choy and Ho Kah Leong (Singapore: Takashimaya Gallery, 1995). (Call no. RSING 759.95957 PAS)

Ho Kah Leong, Beautiful Lion City: The Art of Ho Kah Leong (Singapore: [s. n.]., 1996) (Call no. RSING 759.95957 HO)

Ho Kah Leong 何家良, Nanyang xiang tu qing 南洋乡土情 = Idyllic Nanyang (新加坡: 南洋艺术学院, 2000). (Call no. Chinese RCLOS 759.95957 HKL-[LKS])

The information in this article is valid as at 25 February 2016 and correct as far as we are able to 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.