Suhaimi Yusof

Suhaimi Yusof (born September 4, 1969)[1] is a Singaporean actor, comedian, entertainer and radio DJ,[2] known for playing exaggerated Malay stereotype characters and for his spontaneity.[3][4]

In this Malay name, the name Yusof is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Suhaimi.

Suhaimi Yusof
Born	(1969-09-04) September 4, 1969 Jalan Kampung Tengah, Punggol, Singapore
Nationality	Singaporean
Known for	Sulaiman from Living with Lydia, Sgt Dollah Abu Bakar from Police & Thief, Reporter Jojo Joget from The Noose
Notable work	Host/Actor/Comedian/Voice Over Talent
Spouse(s)	Siti Yuhana
Awards	2001 - 2008 Mediacorp Suria's Best Host Award. 2001 - 2009 Mediacorp Suria's Most Popular Personality Award. 2011 ATV Best Comedy Performance award by an Actor 2011 Astro Maharajalawak Mega Finalist 2012 Astro Superspontan Finalist
Website	Suhaimiyusof_Official (Instagram)

Life and career

Early life

Suhaimi was born in September 4, 1969, in Jalan Kampung Tengah, Punggol, Singapore, the seventh of nine children. Suhaimi's mother, Fatimah Yusof (née Adenan, born 1940), was a homemaker and his father, Yusof Bujang, was a technician. The family moved to Hougang when Suhaimi was sixteen. Suhaimi was initially shy by nature, but soon realised his potential as an actor in secondary school, when his teacher selected him to perform a skit for a Teachers' Day concert. Initially panicking, he finally came up with a character named "Montfort Jackson", a spoof of American recording artist Michael Jackson, and received many laughs from his peers during his performance.[5]

Radio and television

At an inter-school Malay debate competition, Suhaimi greatly impressed Zakiah Halim, a Malay radio veteran, with his performance. Following that, Halim offered Suhaimi a part-time job as a host on the radio programme Majalah Remaja, which was aimed at teens. After his studies and the completion of his compulsory national service, Suhaimi joined the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) (now Mediacorp) as a full-time radio presenter, and soon he was hosting the morning radio show. Thereafter, SBC's television department offered him his first onscreen gig, co-hosting Potret Keluarga, a weekly family programme. Shortly after, he received another hosting job, this time on Hiburan Minggu Ini, an entertainment programme. Suhaimi was offered the role of maintenance guy Sulaiman Yusof in the sitcom Living with Lydia, starring alongside Hong Kong comedian Lydia Shum Din-Ha. He accepted the job, and his character proved a hit with viewers of the sitcom. It would be Suhaimi's first role in English television.[3]

In 2001, Suhaimi quit radio to focus more on television. At that point, he had already become an assistant programme director on Malay radio station Warna 94.2FM.[3] He has acted in many Mediacorp Channel 5 sitcoms, notably as Sgt Dollah Abu Bakar in Police & Thief[6] and "mat rock" reporter Jojo Joget in The Noose.[7][8]

Suhaimi is currently directing and producing an untitled 15-episode comedy series for Astro and has also landed his first role on the big screen as a murder suspect in the upcoming Malay suspense film Psycho.[3]

Businessman

Suhaimi and his wife run an events management and production house called Q & Que, where Suhaimi is creative director.[9] Suhaimi also produces VCDs and DVDs of his comedy performances distributed by Life Records. The first product, entitled Keramat Bernisan, was a live recording and was released in 2004. 25,000 copies were sold in Singapore within three weeks. Subsequently, he produced a series of successful Comedy DVD series, most notably the "Takleh Angkat" series that became an iconic comedy favourite for the local Malay Community as well as abroad . More than 150,000 official copies of Suhaimi's VCDs and DVDs have been sold.[3]

Other appearances

As part of the MTL Fortnight, initiated by the Singapore Ministry of Education, Suhaimi was invited by the Malay Department of Pei Tong Primary School to give a motivational talk for parents on how to motivate their children.[10]

Education

Suhaimi spent four years at Montfort Secondary School. After obtaining his 'O' levels, he attended Tampines Junior College.[11]

Influences

Suhaimi's comedy is rooted in stand-up. He counts American comedians such as Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Will Smith and David Letterman as influences.[3]

Controversy

In early 2012, Suhaimi made a controversial move by writing an open letter on his Facebook Wall criticising Mediacorp Suria for not showing enough appreciation for local talents, and called on other Malay Singaporean actors to seek a better future in Malaysia instead. This caused a stir on the local Malay entertainment scene. Suhaimi later explained that it was "constructive criticism" and it "wasn't a personal attack on anyone in Suria".[3]

Personal life

Suhaimi is married to Siti Yuhana Sulaiman (born 1969) and they have three children, Sufi (born 1999), Nurjannah (born 1996) and Amirul (born 1995).[3]

Honours and awards

Since 2001, Suhaimi received four trophies for The Most Popular Personality Award, four trophies for The Best Host Awards, a trophy for The Best Actor in a Comedic Role Award and a trophy for The Best TV Opening Graphic Award as an Editor in The Singapore Mediacorp Malay TV Award Event, Pesta Perdana.

Suhaimi received the Best Comedy Performance award by an Actor at the 2011 Asian Television Awards for his efforts in The Noose.[5][12][13][14]

He took fourth position in the reality comedy television series Maharaja Lawak Mega.[15]

Filmography

Television Telemovie Drama

Year	Work	Role	Notes
2001–2005	Living with Lydia	Sulaiman Yusof	Recurring Role; his first role in English television
2004–2010	Police & Thief	Sgt Dollah Abu Bakar
2005	Keramat Bernisan Tiga		VCD
2006–2007	Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd	Sgt Dollah Abu Bakar	Appears as a cameo in only two episodes
2008–2016	The Noose	Multiple Characters
2007	Kekek Sey		VCD
2007	Gerek Sey		VCD
2007	Kecoh Kecoh Nak Raya		Sensasi
2007	Takleh Angkat Beb!		Sensasi
2008	Cosmo & George	Black Hole	Okto
2008	Takleh Angkat Kelakar Rebak!		Sensasi
2008	Sentel Power		Sensasi
2008	Muzik Video Kelaka Raya		VCD
2008	Kecoh Kecoh Raya		Sensasi
2010	Anything Goes
2011	Zero Hero	Disgusto	Okto
2011–2012	Maharaja Lawak Mega	Himself	Astro Warna
2012-2013	Super Spontan	Himself	Astro Warna
2014	R&D		Suria
2017-2018	Life Less Ordinary	Rashid Bin Mohamed	Channel 8
2018	Say Cheese!	Kamil	Channel 8

Film

Year	Work	Role	Notes
2007	Just Follow Law	Bamboo
2011	The Ghosts Must Be Crazy
2013	Judgement Day
2013	Psiko: Pencuri Hati (Thief of Heart)	Pak Abu	His first non-comedic role, and also his first major movie starring role
2016	Long Long Time Ago	Osman

Shows Hosted

Year	Work	Notes
2012	Sasuke Singapore	as Co-Host
2013	Our Makan Places: Lost & Found 4	Guest
2013	School Days 1 & 2	Host and actor of younger version of male guests

References

1. "Artis Singapura Tidak Beri Ancaman – Suhaimi Yusof". mStar. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
2. "Suhaimi Yusuf – Super Spontaneous". Murai. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
3. Abdul Hadi, Eddino (8 October 2012). "Show me the funny – The Life! Interview with Suhaimi Yusof". The Straits Times.
4. "Suhaimi Yusof semakin popular". Sinia Harian. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
5. Abdul Hadi, Eddino (7 October 2012). "Comedian Suhaimi Yusof – "I was a shy child"". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
6. "Suhaimi Yusof as SERGEANT DOLLAH". xinmsn. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
7. MediaCorp TV Channel 5 (21 October 2008). "The Noose Ep 7: Quah Liao Sian". xinmsn.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
8. Joyce J. Chansingh (18 November 2011). "The Noose continues to shine with nominations at ATA 2011". xinmsn. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2012. Season 4 of Channel 5's knee-slapping news parody comedy series nabs four nominations in the 16th Asian Television Awards 2011
9. Jalal, Imran (10 October 2012). "Carry on courting". AsiaOne Diva. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
10. "MTL Fortnight 2011". Pei Tong Primary School. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012. Motivational talk by Celebrity Speaker, Mr Suhaimi Yusof As part of the MTL Fortnight, the Malay Department invited Mr Suhaimi Yusof, a well known celebrity, to share tips and pointers to our parents to motivate their children. Mr Suhaimi has a lot of experiences in reaching out to the Malay community at large. His easy-going style is always a hit with parents. The turn out for the event was very encouraging. The Malay department is looking forward to having more guest speakers to provide support for our parents.
11. 林佳憓, 文 / (20 April 2017). "这里是否留下你的光辉岁月？". 早报 (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 March 2020.
12. Asian Television Awards 2011 Winner List Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
13. "Happy for the winner". AsiaOne. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
14. "Congratulations to the 'Noose' on winning the Best Comedy Programme and Suhaimi Yusof for Best Comedy Performance by an Actor/Actress!". xinmsn. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
15. "Motif Suhaimi Yusof Noor Adibah Kick Stomach?". Murai. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.

External links

• Suhaimi Yusof on IMDb