The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) is revitalising the nation’s visual heritage through the digitisation and 4K restoration of 150 hours of vintage documentaries and docudramas.
Finas chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib said the initiative would safeguard the audiovisual materials from deterioration while preserving invaluable footage documenting Malaysia’s people, voices and journey for future generations.
He said the collection held significance beyond its original informational purpose, serving as a visual record of the lives, culture, development and social challenges that shaped a bygone era.
"This nation’s visual archive keeps the faces, voices and story of Malaysia alive, allowing them to be viewed, studied and understood. That is why this restoration work is not just a technical task, but also a responsibility to preserve the nation’s memory,” said Azmir, while officiating the Special Screening and Appreciation Session for the Restoration of National Heritage Audiovisual Collections at Menara Finas in Petaling Jaya today.
He added that the 96-week Digitised Malaysia History (DMH) project underscored the importance of human expertise in restoring historical materials while safeguarding their original condition and authenticity.
"Technology is a vital tool, but the success of restoration ultimately depends on people, their trained eyes, knowledge of the original materials and a sense of responsibility towards history,” he said.
Finas will continue to preserve the original materials following digitisation, ensuring the collection remains safeguarded and accessible for future reference.
“Although we digitise these materials, we retain the original materials so that the content can be reproduced in 2K, 4K and 8K resolutions,” he said.
Azmir added that the initiative would facilitate wider use of the nation’s audiovisual collection for educational, research and exhibition purposes, as well as public screenings and commercial applications, subject to applicable copyright and ownership considerations.
Three restored works, Tunku Visit Sabah, Timeless Temiar and Tongkat Hitam were screened during the session, which also featured sharing sessions by animator, film director, writer and critic Hassan Abd Muthalib, known as the "Father of Malaysian Animation”, and head of the Archive Management Unit at the Finas Laboratory Division Nyoh Austine Sidai.
"We want these treasures to be shared with all Malaysians, especially future generations,” said Azmir. - Bernama
