Tan Sri P. Ramlee

As I remembered, my dad is a fan of P. Ramlee movies, particularly the ones with Salmah aka Saloma in them. They are still shown in black and white on national TV. Titles like Bujang Lapok, Anakku Sazali and Ibu Mertuaku are automatically labelled P. Ramlee's movies and as it is shown here, were award winning movies in the international arena. This could explain why most people prefer these black-and-white movies compared to their contemporary counterparts.

Malay movies by Yasmin Ahmad, however, now that is a different story. If you do not know who Yasmin Ahmad is, she is the director of very interesting movies like Mukhsin, Sepet and Gubra, and also the director of the commercial entitled "Tan Hong Ming in Love". See the video posted on Youtube here and you will understand why it is such a "commercial" success amongst Malaysians.

And here is a very nice song sung by one of the actresses in the movie, Adibah Noor - she may not look it but she has an angelic voice - as two main characters of the movie danced in the rain. Around the 1.38 minute, you will hear a lady looking at them and speaking in Malay; this is the translation:

Wife (seeing the girls dancing themselves wet in the rain):
What has gotten into them? They really know no shame.
Sigh... these Malays don't even act like Malays anymore.

Husband:
And what are you, such a busybody, getting your nose into other people's business?

Anyways, back to the original reason behind this posting, P. Ramlee is not only known for his acting prowess, he is also a very very very good singer. He isn't Frank Sinatra or Elvis but try listening to his songs and tell me that he is not a good singer. My daughter can sleep to this particularly lovely melody, Getaran Jiwa, loosely translated as Vibrations of the Soul.

Hit it, P.

They didn't have the Malaysia Boleh chant back then. Apparently, they prefer to just prove it, rather than chant it.