Harith Iskander
Iskander interviewed by MeleTOP during the Kuala Lumpur International Comedy Fest press conference on 15 September 2015.
Born
Harith Iskander bin Musa

(1966-08-07) 7 August 1966
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Alma materCurtin University
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, television host, director, writer
Years active1990–present
Notable workAh-ha
Baik Punya Cilok
Buli Balik
Komediri
Lawak Ke Der
Obviously Harith Iskander
Funniest Person in the World 2016
Spouse
Jezamine Lim
​
(m. 2010)​
Children3
Websiteharithiskander.com

Harith Iskander bin Musa (born 7 August 1966) is a Malaysian actor and comedian. He is considered to be "the Godfather of Stand-Up Comedy" in Malaysia,[1][2][3][4][5] having also won the Asia's Best Stand-Up Comedian Award 2014 by Top 10 of Asia Magazine.[6][7][8]

He won the Funniest Person in the World competition in December 2016.[9]

Early life

Iskander was raised in Johor Bahru in the state of Johore.[10] His father, Musa Ibrahim hailed from the state and was of Malay descent. His mother, Jane Musa was of Scottish ancestry from the Grant clan, working in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City as a secretary.[11] They both met in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Congo Crisis, Musa being a member of the peacekeeping corps sent by the Malaysian government there while Jane worked as part of the UN staff.[11]

He attended Curtin University in Perth, Australia, majoring in journalism and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English. He graduated in 1988[3][12]

During his university and young adult days, Iskander made a conscious decision to embrace Australian culture while he was an international student despite his aversion to study.[3] For example, his curiosity led him to trying the sport of cricket.[1][3] On another occasion, Iskander described a time where he entered an adult shop in Australia after arriving from Malaysia, only to find out that the shop was full of Malaysian students.[1][3]

Career

Iskander's career in stand-up comedy began during 1990 or 1991, when he was persuaded by a university friend to get on stage in the old Subang Airport Hotel lobby lounge to tell some funny stories.[4][5] It was at this lounge where a member of the audience saw Iskander and invited him to another function to perform on-stage.

In 2016, Iskander was one of 89 international stand-up comedians nominated for Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World.[13] Iskander has been announced as an ambassador for Culture and Tourism Malaysia by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (Tourism and Culture Minister) as he is now one of the attraction in Malaysia.[14]

After being crowned as the Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World in 2016, in 2017, Iskander curated the Kuala Lumpur International Comedy Festival (KLICFest 2017) which considered by many to be Asia's best comedy showcase.[15] The festival programme featured performances from the finest Malaysian acts, the biggest international stars and one local legend offering both English and Bahasa Malaysia comedy.

Thereafter the kick-off show (KLICFest) in Kuala Lumpur, in 2018, Harith Iskander, in partnership with Celcom, had tour his home ground again to deliver the laughs – the #KitaOK Live Comedy Tour 2018. The tour started off in Kuala Lumpur before showing at six other cities in Malaysia: including Johor, Malacca, Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Labuan.[16] Harith Iskander also succeeded in putting Malaysia on the comedy map the second time by releasing his Netflix original comedy special, I Told You So in 2018.[17]

Apart from that in 2018, Harith held his Australia tour named Harith Iskander The Tour - Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018, Adelaide Fringe 2018 and Perth Fringe 2018. Besides, Harith tickled the audiences in the City Of Angels (Los Angeles) in June 2017 where the organizer was The Laugh Factory.[18]

Comedic philosophy

Iskander's view of comedy is that the best comedians are the most authentic comedians; that is to say, a good comedian does not become someone they are not just because they are on a stage.[4] Iskander describes his comedy as 'totally observational and personal', filled with personal experience.[5] He describes himself as 'not a shock comedian', but one who has his own 'personal barriers'; for example, one area in which he 'treads carefully' is the subject matter of politics.[4] He notes that Malaysian comedy tends to be 'casually racist' sometimes.[5]

Iskander's source of jokes come from everywhere around him[12] and he is an advocate of cross-border relations between Singaporean and Malaysian comedians.[4]

Personal life

On 12 June 2010, Iskander married doctor and FHM model Jezamine Lim after meeting her through Facebook.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Selubung Brother Musa
1997 Hanya Kawan Harith Also as director and writer
1999 Anna and the King Nikorn
2004 Sepet Abah
2005 Baik Punya Cilok Inspector Roslan
2006 Buli Balik Dr. Kam
Gubra Abah
2008 Cuci David
2009 Talentime Harith
2010 Aku Tak Bodoh Bag Store Boss Cameo appearance
2022 Kongsi Raya Rahim
Spilt Gravy on Rice Co-pilot "Angel"
Ada Hantu 2 Hos Special appearance

Television

Year Title TV channel Role Notes
1991–1999, 2007 Jangan Ketawa[8] TV3
NTV7
1998 Kugiran TV3 Ben Telemovie
2004–2005 Ah-Ha[8] TV3 Also as director
2007 Thursday Night Live[8] NTV7 Himself, as talk show host
2009–2010 Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd NTV7,
Mediacorp Channel 5		 Izzy
Rojak Paul
2012–2016 Lawak Ke Der! Astro Warna Himself
2015 Komediri Himself
2016 Obviously Harith Iskander Astro Awani Himself, as talk show host
2017 Celebrity Car Wars Season 2 History HD Himself/participant
2018 I Told You So Netflix Himself

Other appearances

Iskander has also appeared in various comedy sittings such as The Kings and Queens of Comedy Asia[5] and the Best of Comedy Malaysia at Lower Town Hall, Melbourne.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Schembri, Jim (29 March 2012). "Review: Best of Comedy Malaysia featuring Harith Iskander". HeraldSun. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Harith Iskander". Singapore Comedy Fringe 2016. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Tulloch, Yvette (13 April 2015). "The 'godfather' of Malaysian stand-up comedy – Harith Iskander". News and Events. Curtin University. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Loh, Genevieve Sarah (14 September 2016). "Godfather of Malaysian stand-up Harith Iskander: "I'm not a shock comedian!"". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh (19 October 2015). "8 Questions with Harith Iskander: Malaysia's godfather of stand-up". The Straits Times. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "HARITH ISKANDER (MAL) | Enmore Theatre". metrotheatre.com.au. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Malaysia's Top 10 Comedians". TallyPress. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Harith Iskander at the Sydney Comedy Festival". Dirty Work Comedy. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Harith Iskander wins Funniest Person in the World competition - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Tam, Michelle (19 May 2016). "TMJ plays 'tour guide' to Harith Iskander". The Star. Star Media Group Berhad. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  11. 1 2 Surin, Jacqueline Ann (8 November 2011). "Harith Iskander's "Race Malaysia"". TheNutGraph. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  12. 1 2 Yap, Stephanie (9 January 2015). "5 Things You Should Know About Harith Iskander". Her World Malaysia. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Harith Iskander in the running for the Funniest Person in the World". New Straits Times. 7 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Nazri: Harith now one of country's main attractions". Malay Mail. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Asia's 'best comedy festival' returns - Metro News | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Comedian Harith Iskander to go on nationwide tour". New Straits Times.
  17. ↑ "Harith Iskander: I Told You So | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "Funnyman Harith to tickle Los Angeles folk next month". New Straits Times. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  19. ↑ Diyana Rose Kamalludeen (2 April 2010). "Harith Iskandar Akhiri Zaman Bujang Julai Ini". mStar (in Malay). Retrieved 15 November 2016.
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