Talented Malay - Tan Sri P. Ramlee

Tan Sri P. Ramlee, born on 22 March 1929 was a Malaysian film actor, director and songwriter. Due to his contributions in the movie and music industry, as well as in the literary scene, he is often attributed as the icon of Malay entertainment in the Malay world, especially in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

His original name was Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh, was born at his grandmother's house  which now opened as P. Ramlee House in Counter Hall or now renamed as Jalan P. Ramlee, Penang. 'Teuku' is a title for descendants of noble families from Aceh of Sumatra, in Indonesia. His father Teuku Nyak Puteh was a sailor from Lho' Seumawe in the province of Aceh, who migrated to Penang, in Malaya then in early 1920s.
As a child, he studied in several schools, including the famous Penang Free School. During his school days he was very active in sports, especially sepak takraw, badminton and football.

He was married three times, the last to the known singer Salmah Ismail or Saloma in 1961.
P Ramlee’s big break came on 1 June 1948 when he was spotted by tamil film director BS Rajhans from Malay Film Productions of Jalan Ampas in Singapore. His 1^st film is ‘Nasib’ in 1949 and seven years later he started to direct his first film ‘Penarek Becha’. His last film is ‘Laksamana DoReMe’ in 1972 and his last song is ‘Airmata di Kuala Lumpur’ in 1973.
On 27 May 1973, P.Ramlee died at the age of 44 due to heart problems and was buried in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. In 1986, in honour of his contributions to the Malaysian entertainment industry, the P. Ramlee Memorial was set up at his house in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the title Tan Sri.

During his career he directed and acted in sixty-six films, and wrote more than 300 songs. Among his films that received awards are:

·         Best Musical Score for Hang Tuah — Third Asian Film Festival, Hong Kong (1956)

·         Best Male Actor for Anak-ku Sazali— Fourth Asian Film Festival, Tokyo (1957)

·         Best Comedy Film for Nujum Pak Belalang — Seventh Asian Film Festival, Tokyo (1960)

·         Most Versatile Talent for Ibu Mertua Ku — Tenth Asian Film Festival, Tokyo (1963)

·         Best Comedy Film for Madu Tiga — Eleventh Asian Film Festival, Taipeh (1964)