Tony Miskin- FAIQS; LFIQS (SL);
ARMIT (QS): Pioneering services rendered to the Quantity
Surveying profession since 1973
Tony Miskin is recognised as
one of the pioneers
of the Quantity Surveying Profession in Sri Lanka and played an important
role in its development.
He has been a prominent member of the Construction
Industry from 1973 to 1991.
After completion of his technical studies at the
University of Moratuwa (former Institute of Practical
Technology), he received a
6 year Colombo Plan scholarship to study in Melbourne
Australia, where he successfully qualified as a Quantity
Surveyor at the RMIT University in Melbourne in 5 years. In
his final year he undertook further studies in Project
Management & Building Economics at the University of
Melbourne, Australia.
Mr Miskin began his career at the Buildings
Department (former Public Works Department) in Sri Lanka, and
later joined Design Consortium Ltd a leading firm of
Architects as a Director. He was also Managing Director of
Miskin & Partners -a firm of Quantity Surveyors &
Arbitrators and also Director of Project Management Services
Ltd, before migrating to Australia in 1991 with his family. He
is the only Sri Lankan to be an active Director of
Architectural, Project Management & Quantity Surveying
Companies, in Colombo.
At a time, when the QS profession was not duly
recognised in the Sri Lankan construction industry and there
were just four QS professionals in Sri Lanka, Mr Miskin,
together with Professor Caldera , Mr HD Chandrasena and others
were instrumental in the development of the QS profession. In 1974, he
presented the paper “Quantity Surveying in Sri Lanka” in a
Seminar organised by Commonwealth Association of Surveying and
land Economy (CASLE) of London. This paper served as a
launching pad for developing the QS profession as he
recommended forming a Professional QS body to promote and
advance the profession, preparation of a national SMM for use
throughout the industry and better education facilities
including a Post Graduate course. All his recommendations were
implemented subsequently.
He was a joint -author of a report on a QS Degree at University
of Moratuwa with Prof Rupert Peiris and HD Chandrasena in
1982. This report was submitted to the Institute for
Construction, Training & Development (ICTAD) under a World
Bank. / British council Programme, thus playing a major role
in the establishment of the B.Sc. (QS) degree course at the
University of Moratuwa. He also assisted in drafting the
initial curriculum for the degree course jointly with
Professor Siri Caldera, HD Chandrasena and finalised by two
British experts / U.N consultants.
He served as a Senior lecturer of the Department
of Building Economics (QS) of the University of Moratuwa after
the establishment of a QS degree course in 1986 in order to deliver competent QSs in
all aspects for the construction industry in Sri Lanka.
Today, his vision has been accomplished, and as a result , the
B.Sc. (QS) Honours degree course
has received accreditation by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(RICS) - UK, the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
(AIQS) and Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS).
Major efforts by Prof: Chitra Weddikkara and Mr HD
Chandrasena after 1991 ensured that the B.Sc. (QS) Honours
degree course received due accreditation.
Mr Miskin lectured
in various academical Institutes such as to both
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Architectural and Quantity
Surveying students of the University of Moratuwa and
also initiated many training programmes for the practicing
Quantity Surveyors for 15 years.
Mr
Miskin was also a visiting lecturer at the Open University,
SLIA, Institute of Administrative studies, Technical Training
Institute Ratmalana and at ICTAD in Sri Lanka. He was also an
Examiner for RIBA (UK), SLIA, IQSSL and the University of
Moratuwa.
As a founding member and the first General
Secretary of the IQSSL, he was involved in drafting the
Constitution of the IQSSL. He held the position of General Secretary
and President for several years.
In order to promote the profession among Architects and
Engineers, his tireless efforts in addressing several
important seminars to the construction
industry
have helped to establish and recognize the important role of QS’s as an integral
part of the construction industry. He also played an
active role in encouraging undergraduates to join IQSSL and
AIQS. As at 2006
there were 600 members of the IQSSL including 71 corporate
Members. Today
there are more than 2000 including over 600 who are employed overseas.
He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of
Quantity Surveyors, a Fellow of the Sri Lanka Institute of
Quantity Surveyors, and an Associate of the Royal Melbourne
Institute of Technology. He is also a former Associate of the
Australian Institute of Arbitrators and the Institute of
Construction Surveyors London. On the 1st of July 2003 the
Institute of Quantity Surveyors – Sri Lanka upgraded Mr.
Miskin as a Honorary Life Fellow of the IQSSL for his
pioneering services rendered for the development of the QS profession in
Sri Lanka over a long period of time. He is also the first Sri
Lankan and the first from the South Asian region to be
elevated as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Quantity
Surveyors.
The construction industry also recognized his
roles as a practicing Arbitrator,
and as an Expert Witness and was also involved in
joint Arbitrations with Supreme Court Judges, Justice AC Alles
and Justice J Seneviratne.
He brought international recognition and honour
to the QS profession of Sri Lanka. He is also the author of several Technical and
general papers published in Australia, United Kingdom, Sri
Lanka and Malaysia. Some of his published papers include;
·
Quantity Surveying in
Sri Lanka- published by CASLE-London in 1974
·
Contractual & Cost
aspects of a five star hotel-published by CASLE London–June
1987
·
Hotel Project in Sri
Lanka-published by the Building Economist -Australia, Dec 1987
·
IYSH- Sri Lanka's
Housing Strategy published by CASLE London - Jan 1988
·
Project Management &
Contract Documents-published by ICTAD & Institute of Engineers-
1989
·
Typical problems &
Solutions in Contract administration-published by ICTAD –1990
·
Contractual arrangements
and its Cost implications-published by Inst. of Surveyors
Malaysia , Journal – 1991 and also University of Moratuwa - 1991.
·
Sri Lanka -a History of
Growth- published by the Building Economist -Australia-1993.
·
A lecture titled “Public
Awareness and importance of Quantity Surveying” delivered at a
Seminar jointly organised by the University of Moratuwa and
IQSSL. Mr Miskin was personally congratulated by the Late Hon
Lalith Athulathmudali
Minister of Higher education, for a very informative and
well delivered lecture.
·
“A glimpse into the
History of Sri Lanka”, edited by Professor Nandasena Mudiyanse
of the Kelaniya University and published in the Malay Journal-
Terang, is perhaps the only attempt by a Malay to tackle such
a subject.
·
In 2011 he was invited
to deliver the Keynote address at an International PAQS
Conference that was held in Sri Lanka in July 2011.
Unfortunately Mr Miskin was unable to attend this conference. Prof:
Brandon of UK finally took his place
·
He is the author of “ The History of the QS Profession in Sri
Lanka “ A
summarised version of this was published in the book “The History of
Quantity Surveying In Australia” in 2008 by the Australian
Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS)
·
His research paper titled “ Chronological events
in the History of Sri Lankan Malays “ was highly commended and is preserved in
the Dept: of National Archives.
·
He is also the author
of the book titled “
The Malay Directory “ .published
by the Sri Lanka Malay association in 1990. This book includes
Statistical data on
Malays and also other interesting articles on Malays.
Whilst working in Sri Lanka, he was a well
reputed expert in the Contract administration, Cost
Management, Project Management
and Disputes Resolution for many projects including the
prestigious 5 star Trans Asia Hotel project. This is currently
known as the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. He was also a
pioneer in the use of Cost Planning & Elemental Cost
Analysis as a planning tool in the QS profession of Sri Lanka.
The Bills of Quantities prepared by his Company- Miskin
& Partners Pty Ltd were based on the SMM available for use
at that time.
The first QS firm in Sri Lanka was formed by Mr
Miskin in 1979 and later renamed Miskin & Partners Pty
Ltd. Prof Chitra Weddikkara was a Director of this company.
Several young Quantity Surveyors
who were trained in the above firm- are professionally
qualified now and are presently holding senior positions in
various parts of the world.
He was the first Sri Lankan to be an active Director of
Architectural (Design Consortium Ltd),
Project
Management & Quantity Surveying companies in Sri Lanka.
Two of his students
who were at the University of Moratuwa are currently
Uni: Professors. Prof:
Ramizdeen at the
Uni: of Moratuwa and
Prof: Srinath
Perera in UK.
After migration to Brisbane,Australia in 1991, he
has been the Managing Director of Peak Property Group Pty Ltd,
a Project Management & Property development company and
also the Managing Partner of Miskin & Henny Partnership, a
Construction firm.
Miskin & Henny
Partnership had Quality Assurance certification AS/NZS
ISO- 9002:1994.
Amidst the heavy workload, he was also a Mental
Health social worker at the Mental hospital Angoda, and a
member of the Sarvodaya movement for a brief period.
He was also involved in helping a childrens
orphanage in
Balapitiya for a long period.
In
Australia he is an Honorary Life Governor of the Royal
Children’s hospital Melbourne .
He was
very interested in matters pertaining to the Sri Lankan Malay
community
He held the position of General Secretary of
the Sri Lanka Malay Association and was also the Vice
President of the Malay Club – Padang, Colombo 2. He is a life
member of both the SLMA Colombo, and the Sri Lankan Malay
Association of Sydney. - Australia.
A fact not known to many is that Mr Miskin was
also a good all-round sportsman. He captained Tennis,
Badminton, & Soccer teams in the PWD/Buildings Department
during his younger days and was also Vice captain of the
Cricket team in the various Government Services tournaments.
He was a member of Queens Club (Tennis) and is a Life member
of Otters Aquatic club- Colombo 7. In Australia, he
represented the Sri Lanka Club of Victoria in Cricket, and was
the Club’s Badminton champion for 5 consecutive years.
Mr. Miskin who is leading a
quiet semi- retired life has been a pillar of strength for
the QS profession in Sri Lanka during the most difficult
times. His personal untiring efforts finally enabling the QS profession to
gain due recognition in
the Construction industry.
His words of wisdoms to all, mainly to undergraduate and post grad
students and guidance to aspiring Quantity Surveyors and Architects
gained the respect of professionals, academics and students
of various professions.
We, therefore, consider him
as a pioneer and
a colossus of the QS profession in Sri Lanka. Our gratitude go
to Mr Miskin and his family as they
were no doubt behind his success.
DUBAI
March 2012.
Tony Preena Miskin is the eldest son of the late Mohammed Jaylan Thassim Miskin and Mrs Sareena Miskin of Horetuduwa Moratuwa.
Tony’s father MJT Miskin,
was an Inspector of Police who retired as a lecturer of
the Police Training School- Kalutara in 1966. He was
born in 1910 and died in 1971.
Tony’s mother Sareena is
the eldest daughter of Ahamadon Saed Baharan – Police
Bandsman
Tony married Jacqueline Fathima
Lye ( ANZ Bank - Brisbane ), daughter of Al Haj BMR
Lye (Manager Habib Bank Zurich) and Mrs Daneen Lye
(nee Jumat) of Nawala in 1975.
Jacqueline died in 1996 in
Brisbane, in Queenslandd, Australia when she was just 41
years, and was buried at the Mt Gravatt Cemetery. Tony’s only
son Imran is an Information Technology graduate of Griffith
University in Qld. He is studying for a Post Graduate Diploma in
Commerce, specializing in Professional Accounting at the
University of Queensland.
Tony is a Cambrian and a product of
Prince of Wales College – Moratuwa and the University of
Moratuwa (formerly Inst: of Practical Technology) He is
also a Colombo Plan scholar. He proceeded on a 6 year
scholarship to Melbourne Australia, where he successfully
qualified as a Quantity Surveyor at the RMIT University in
Melbourne in 5 years. In his final year he undertook further
studies in Project Management & Building Economics at
the University of Melbourne, Australia.
He is a Fellow of the Australian
Institute of Quantity Surveyors, a Fellow of the Sri Lanka
Institute of Quantity Surveyors, and an Associate of the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is also a former Associate
of the Australian Institute of Arbitrators and the Institute of
Construction Surveyors London
In Sri Lanka, Tony worked at the
Buildings Department Colombo (former PWD) and later joined
Design Consortium Ltd a leading firm of Architects as a
Director. He was also Managing Director of Miskin & Partners
-a firm of Arbitrators & Quantity Surveyors and also
Director of Project Management Services Ltd, before migrating to
Australia in 1991 with his family. He is the only Sri Lankan to
be an active Director of Architectural, Project Management
& Quantity Surveying Companies, in Colombo.
One of his biggest achievements in
the construction industry was the Contract administration &
Cost Management of the 5 star Trans Asia Hotel – Colombo which
cost Rs 1.5 Billion in 1984. In the final year of this
prestigous project, he took over the Project Managers role to
finalize the accounts of the 81 separate contracts and resolve
major disputes between the Client and contractors. He
delivered the goods to the clients satisfaction.
Tony was also a practising
Arbitrator, and was also involved in joint Arbitrations with
Supreme court Judges, Justice AC Alles and Justice J
Seneviratne.
Tony was a prominent member in Sri
Lanka’s construction industry from 1973 to 1991.
He is also a former Senior Lecturer
of the University of Moratuwa where he lectured Architectural,
Quantity Surveying & Engineering students for 14 years.
Tony was also a visiting lecturer
at the Open University, Institute of Architects, Institute of
Administrative studies Colombo 7, Technical Training Institute
Ratmalana and at ICTAD- (Institute for construction, training
& development) - Colombo 7.
He is also the author of several
Technical papers published in Australia, United Kingdom,
One paper titled - “ A glimpse into
the History of Sri Lanka “, edited by Professor Nandasena
Mudiyanse of the Kelaniya University and published in the
Malay Journal- Terang, is perhaps the only attempt by a Malay to
tackle such a subject.
.
Tony is a pioneer in Quantity
Surveying in Sri Lanka and was the General Secretary and
President of the Sri Lankan Institute of Quantity Surveyors for
several years
Tony played a major role in
the establishment of the QS course at the University of Moratuwa
and developed the curricula for the course jointly with
Professor Siri Caldera, Mr. HD Chandrasena.- Chief QS of
the S.E.C. and two English/U.N consultants.
He also took an active part in Malay Community matters and is the author of the Malay Directory published by the Sri Lanka Malay Association in 1990. He was also the General Secretary of the SLMA and the Vice President of the Malay Club – Padang, Colombo 2.
He is a life member of both the
SLMA Colombo, and the Sri Lankan Malay Association of
Sydney.- Australia.
Amidst the heavy workload, Tony
surprisingly found time to be a social worker too, and was a
Mental Health social worker at the Mental hospital Angoda, and a
member of the Sarvodaya movement for a
brief period. In Australia he is an Honorary Life
Governor of the Royal childrens hospital Melbourne and presently
the Overseas Director for the Samanala Childrens Home
Balapitiya- Sri Lanka. (a home for orphans)
A fact not known to many is that Tony was also a good all-round sportsman . He captained Tennis, Badminton, & Soccer teams in the PWD/Buildings Dept during his younger days and was also Vice captain of the Cricket team in the various Government Services tournaments. He was a member of Queens club ( Tennis ) and is a Life member of Otters Aquatic club- Colombo 7.
He was also a semi finalist in the
All Island Badminton tourney for Novices held at the
YMCA.-Colombo as a young sportsman. In Australia, he
represented the Sri Lanka Club of Victoria in
Cricket, and was the Club’s Badminton champion for 5
consecutive years..
In Brisbane, Tony is the
Managing Director of the property development company; Peak
Property Group Pty Ltd. and Managing Partner of Miskin &
Henny Partnership – a building firm. Miskin & Henny
has Quality Assurance certification AS/NZS ISO- 9002:1994.
Peak Property Group is involved in
joint venture construction projects with a Brisbane based
property development company, in Australia. Having given up
Quantity Surveying since migration to Brisbane, he is now
involved in the more challenging professions of Project
Management and Property Development.. His son Imran is
also a Director of Peak Property Group.
Tony is contemplating
semi-retirement, to embark on another favourite subject close to
his heart- to write a Book on “ The history of
the Miskin Family” to some extent a sequel to the
international Book titled- “ The World book of
Miskins “
6th Jan
2003- Brisbane, Qld. Australia.