P Ramlee (PART II) : The Forgotten Legend

** Read earlier post "P Ramlee (PART I) : Tribute to a Legend" **

P Ramlee made a historical leap on 28 August 1948 when he travelled from Penang to Singapore to accept a job in Malay Film Production (MFP) and Shaw Brothers. The journey changed his life and he enjoyed compounding success after success. He acted and directed films. It was P Ramlee mania at that time. A lot of his films leaves such a huge impact to the audience. Who could ever forget this conversation between Ajis and Sudin in the film 'Bujang Lapok'.

(but sorry I don't really know how to translate it to english without losing its value).

Ajis : "Ye tak ye la, Din. Rumah yang kau cakap dulu tu dah ada orang tinggal belum?"

Sudin : "Aaaa... Rumah yang mana tu?"

Ajis : "Rumah yang kau cakap tu......"

Sudin : "Aaaa... Rumah yang itu ada kosong lagi, tapi kalau kita apply dapat lah"

Ajis : "Berapa bilik ader, Din?"

Sudin : "Aaaa... bilik yang aku tengok ada 3 bilik lah yang kosong"

Ajis : "Tiga bilik? bagus la untuk kite satu orang satu ye. Besar tak bilik tu, Din?"

Sudin : "Aaaa.. Besar tak berapa besar la bilik tu, Jis. Panjangnya tu 7 kaki kau tahu... Lebarnya tu membawak ke 3 kaki... dalam dia same dengan panjang 7 kaki"

Ajis : "Oh besar jugak.. bagus rumah tu ye. 7 kaki panjang dia, 3 kaki lebar dia.. ade dalam lah pulak ek.?? EH, ITU KUBUR TEMPAT ENGKAU NAK MAMPOS, BAHALOL!!"

Hehehe.. and a lot of other phrases from his films are so effective that they are still being talked about until today. This includes :

"Baik ???? Baik ada makna tuuuu....." from the film 'Madu Tiga'

"Sekali aku lesing....!!" from the film 'Labu Labi'

"Walaupun wajahmu tidak ku kenal, tetapi lobang hidungmu tetap menjadi pojaan hatiku" from the film 'Seniman Bujang Lapok'

"Cobaan........." from the film 'Pendekar Bujang Lapok'

"Mari kita lihat siapa yang kena!!!........." from the film 'Ali Baba Bujang Lapok'

"Butang baju melayu aku mana, Pah??" from the film 'Madu Tiga'.

And I am sure, as you are reading these quotes, you can also think of many other phrases from many of his films. That was his success.

But after more then 15 years in Studio Jalan Ampas, Singapore, he suddenly found himself trapped in a helpless situation when the national politics erupted into a conflict. A political leader, Lee Kuan Yew of the PAP party, demanded for Singapore to be declared as an independance nation. Shaw bothers could not keep up to the pressure and decided to call it a day, while Singapore was officially declared out of The Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Friends in Kuala Lumpur have also been enticing P Ramlee to return to Malaysia, which eventually he did in 1964 and joined the MERDEKA STUDIO in Hulu Kelang, Selangor.

In Merdeka Studio, P Ramlee continue to produce good films, but on a glaringly less quality. Some of the memorable films he produced in Merdeka Studio includes 'Masam-masam Manis', the series of 'Do Re Mi' films, 'Keluarga 69' and 'Ahmad Albab'.

Unfortunately, all of his other films there flopped horribly, including 'Tora Si Harimau Jadian', 'Dajal Suci', 'Sesudah Subuh', 'Kanchan Tirana', 'Di Belakang Tabir' and 'Gelora'. Merdeka Studio was a new, less-budgeted studio at that time. It was poorly equipped and its rookie staffing meant that the legend had to multi-task, which caused him the quality of his productions. That was indeed another turning point in P Ramlee's life - this time for the worse. And there was also an explosion of Indonesia and Hindustan movies into the Malaysian market. P Ramlee has really lost his glitter, money and fame.

P Ramlee briefly joined Jins Shamsudin to form a company called PERFIMA to cater for the welfare of Malay film producers, but he later withdrew himself from the company. P Ramlee tried in vain to set up P RAMLEE PRODUCTIONS, but was shun out by the media and entertainment industry.

At times, he had to sit in the canteen at Angkasapuri, waiting for his wife, Saloma, to finish her own show in RTM. He could not secure any government aid, grants or private financial initiatives dispite his proven record and passion for Malay films, music and culture. He tried to re-invent himself and sought bank loans - but was also rejected. He has now become the forgotten legend.

Together with a long time friend, who is also a film producer, HM Shah, P Ramlee planned to set up another company called RUMPUN MELAYU. But that plan did not materialize as P Ramlee passed away before the plan could even take off.

P Ramlee, once a great figure in the entertainment industry is now tragically stressed out, rejected, over-weight, dishevelled and completely broken in passion and spirit. He had to go back to doing any job he could, including running mahjong tables and singing at wedding and other functions to put food on the table for his family. Sometimes, he had to live only on rice and egg.

On 28 May 1973, P Ramlee received a court summon for his friend's loan, on which he was the guarantor. Some say that that was perhaps the last nail on the coffin. He suffered a massive heart attack the next day on 29 May 1973 and died at the age of 44. It is said that on the day he died, there was no rice in the house. His wife, Saloma, also had no money for his funeral. Malaysia's biggest film icon died penniless and shun from public, which (sadly) includes his friends.

The whole nation was shocked! From commoner to film stars to national leaders, they all thronged his house to attend his funeral as if they have just woken up from a long sleep. Thousands of them! The nation suddenly realised what they have abandoned and taken for granted for so long.

A lost that will never be replaced.. a treasure lost forever!