“Di mana kan kucari ganti
Serupa denganmu
Tak sanggup ku berpisah
Dan berhati patah hidup gelisah”
Rumah Kelahiran P. Ramlee or the Birth House of P. Ramlee is located at No. 4A, Jalan P.Ramlee, Pulau Pinang. In this house was born a unique superstar like no other by the name of P.Ramlee (birth name: Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh). He was born to proud parents, a sailor from Lho’ Seumawe, Acheh and a local mother Che Mah bt Hussein. The house was built by P.Ramlee’s father with the help of his cousin, Rejab bin Husin.
After parking the vehicles at parking lots provided near Arkib Negeri Pulau Pinang, visitors will walk into the compound of the birth house. Looking at the gardener showering the plants, you feel as if the house is somewhat inhabited. There is a pavilion in front of the compound overlooking the garden, on which you can take shelter from the scorching heat. Enjoy the songs of P.Ramlee being played from the speaker installed at the pavilion.
The house is a traditional Malay house with elevated building to avoid flood after heavy rainfalls. Like any other traditional malay houses, the house was built without the use of nails. Under the elevated house, you can find an old bicycle which was used by P. Ramlee as a child.
Inside the house, the living room is now used to exhibit documents introducing P.Ramlee since birth. You can find a copy of P.Ramlee’s identification card, pictures of his parents, history of his family background, certificates of competition won by him at schools, his music background etc. As you move further down, you can find a bedroom which houses the steel box used by his family to store clothes, his clothes and his bed. Some posters from his movies are hanged to decorate the room.
At the back of the house lies the kitchen. Old style kitchen where the wooden planks were arranged so as to allow some gaps in between. This is useful in the old days for the women to wash the dishes or drain the dishware.
Of course, the bathroom and the toilet can be found outside the house. What do you expect; it’s a traditional Malay house.
The tour will end at the air-conditioned P.Ramlee’s gallery. Musical instruments, movie posters, original work, clothes, pictures can be found here. In fact, you can buy some merchandise in the gallery such as postcards. One of the staff at the gallery is a close friend to P.Ramlee since childhood; he will tell you random facts of P.Ramlee unknown to the society.
P.Ramlee who? | A legendary Malaysian film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer and producer.