Proposal to start regional-level P. Ramlee fan club

Mohd Azmi (second left) speaking to Mohd Yusoff about the repainted P. Ramlee mural along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah.

BOTH the Penang and Sarawak P. Ramlee Fan Clubs are proposing for a similar club to be formed at South-East Asian level in an effort to preserve the national legend’s heritage.

Penang P. Ramlee Fan Club president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said the matter was currently being discussed by both the clubs and another club in Brunei.

“We have been in contact with the other clubs, ” he said. Mohd Yussof said Tan Sri P. Ramlee was not only popular in the Malay diaspora but was also famous in the whole South-East Asian region.

He added that their Sarawak and Brunei counterparts planned to visit Penang when the travel restrictions are lifted.

The idea to start the club started a few years ago when the state P. Ramlee Fan Club delegation visited Sarawak and paid a courtesy call on Sarawak P. Ramlee Fan Club president Datuk Dr Adi Badiozaman Tuah.

Earlier, Mohd Yussof unveiled a repainted mural of P. Ramlee on a wall of a house in Century Garden in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah.

The mural, initiated by the Penang P. Ramlee Fan Club, was painted by local artist Mohd Azmi Mohd Hussin to mark P. Ramlee’s 92nd birthday.

“There was already a mural of P. Ramlee here but it was not properly maintained and a bush was covering it.

“So we decided that the mural should be repainted and be maintained, ” Mohd Yussof said.

He added that several events would normally be held to commemorate P. Ramlee’s birthday but this year, due to the pandemic the events had to be cancelled.

“The mural repainting is one of the events we planned this year and the club is looking for several other sites to paint similar murals, ” he added.

Mohd Azmi said he was proud to be given the honour to paint one of the great icons of the country.

“As a local boy, I have always wanted to paint a P. Ramlee mural as a tribute to the legend.

“I used to propose this to other agencies but none of them agreed. Luckily, the club and Tan Sri made my dream come true, ” he said.

Mohd Azmi said the 2.7m-high and 3m-wide (nine feet by 10 feet) mural was completed in three days in time for P. Ramlee’s birthday which falls on March 22.