Artist completes portrait of Sultan of Johor, TMJ in two days

KLUANG – An artist took about two days to complete a portrait painting of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Tunku Mahkota Johor, Tunku Ismail.

Zulkifli Dahlan, 56,drew inspiration to create the portrait of Johor Royal family after being given an opportunity to paint a mural at Laman Kembara Paloh, here, in preparation for the 2023 Kembara Mahkota Johor (KMJ).

"During every KMJ event, Rumah Seni Kluang and I have a special gift for the family of the Tuanku Sultan of Johor.

"Previously, I had presented a portrait of the crown to Sultan Ibrahim. Today, I have the opportunity to express my affection and admirationby gifting Tunku Ismail's portrait to TMJ," he said when met here, today.

Laman Kembara Paloh was the second stop of the KMJ 2023 tour led by Tunku Ismail to entertain the people in the Kluang district.

Zulkifli, a father of six children, is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Design from University of Technology Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam.

He has been involved in the art world professionally for over 30 years.

"I have been drawing since primary school and for the record I have produced more than 1,000 paintings including mural paintings on the walls of buildings throughout the state including Kluang and Mersing," he said.

Earlier, the Johor royal family led by Tunku Mahkota Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Iskandar arrived at the Laman Kembara Paloh at about 10.50am.

Accompanying him were Tunku Temenggong Johor, Tunku Idris Iskandar, Tunku Panglima Johor, Tunku Abd Rahman; Tunku Putera Johor, Tunku Abu Bakar and Datuk Dennis Muhammad Abdullah.

Tunku Ismail made history leading a tour covering 879 kilometers across 10 districts from Aug 5 to 8.