Remembering Jins Shamsuddin

Malaysian James Bond Passes Away

I just cannot believe my eyes when I check the news early Thursday morning. The headline reads 'SCREEN LEGEND JINS SHAMSUDDIN PASSES AWAY'. I rub my sleepy eyes in disbelieve. It is only when I see the same words again does reality set in. Almost immediately I feel emptiness in my heart. I have always idolized Tan Sri Jins Shamsiddin. To me, he stands shoulder to shoulder with the other movie heavy weights like P Ramlee, Ed Osmera and Ahmad Mahmud.

It was just the other day that I was speaking to one of the dealers at the Kampung Berjaya flea market. I have to admit I do not know his real name. He introduced himself as Haji when we met four years ago and I have stuck to that name ever since. Furthermore, everyone else calls him by that name as well. Haji and I share a common passion. We are both very much into Malay films, especially those produced between 1960s and 1970s. That is the time we consider to be the golden age of the Malay film industry.

I enjoy having coffee with Haji during his morning break. He regales me with tales of his younger days in Singapore. His father worked for Shaw Brothers and his family lived in the Jalan Ampas Staff Quarters. As a young boy, he often sneaked into the production area where his father worked as a camera man. P Ramlee, Saloma, Saadiah, Latifah Omar. The list goes on and on. Oh..and of course Jins Shamsuddin. Haji has seen them all in the thick of action.




Haji's father was a far sighted man. Apart from making films, Shaw Brothers also had their own camera crew who took photographs of the scenes during filming. Those photographs were for promotional purposes and they were discarded once the film was released. Haji's father collected and stored them carefully in boxes.

'Son, one day these photographs will be of great importance and value. Keep them now and sell them at a high price next time.' That was what Haji's father told him one evening after he came home with another bag full of photographs.

Several years ago, Haji moved from Singapore to Malaysia. Fortunately, he brought those precious photographs along as well. He settled down in Sungai Petani, Kedah and began participating in the nearby flea markets.

Several weeks back, during one of his better mood days, Haji let me in on a secret. His father not only collected discarded photographs. The shrewd man also picked up film dialogue scripts that were thrown away. But these were were mush fewer in numbers compared to the photographs. 'I remember seeing scripts with the names of the stars printed on the cover. I have P Ramlee, Jins Shamsuddin, Ed Osmera and a few others,' he confides over kopi panas. I can still remember his crestfallen face when I asked to see the books. 'Ai ya..I did not take care of them and they were damaged by white ants. Nothing left.' I nearly cried when I heard that. Those dialogue books will be priceless today if he had taken good care of them.

Over the years, I have bought quite a lot of photographs. Many of these include images from Jins' films. Among these, Gerak Kilat, Bayangan Ajal and Jurang Bahaya have the greatest impact on me. This trilogy with Jins in the starring role as the suave immaculately dressed spy, Jefri Zain, was Asia's answer to the rising James Bond craze that was sweeping the world at that time. The premier of Gerak Kilat back in 1966 saw crowds turning up in droves at cinemas throughout the country. Like me, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the suspense, state of the art gadgets and best of all the clever mix of comedy. All in all, it captured the very essence of what a good movie should have.  

I remember clearly the first time I watched Gerak Kilat. Although many of its scenes had a close resemblance to those from Dr No, the first film in the hugely popular James Bond franchise, but to me it is the laughs that matter. The villains in Gerak Kilat, numbering by the hundreds, were at most times defeated in a hilarious manner with Jefri Zain's unending arsenal of gadgets like exploding cigarettes, pen guns and acid spewing bracelets.

Gerak Kilat was so successful that Shaw Brothers decided to produce and release the other two movies in quick succession two years later in 1968. By that time, the Jefri Zain craze had taken Asia by storm. The youthful and handsome Jins at that time swept the ladies off their feet while many men inspired their barbers all over Malaysia and Singapore to give them his trademark hair style. Jins was at the pinnacle of his achievements. He, together with his stunning female co stars, dominated the front cover of nearly every film magazine for that year and the next.

Jins Shamsuddin was born in Taiping on 5 November 1935. His movie career began in earnest in the early 1950s under the tutelage of film giant Tan Sri P Ramlee. Throughout his lifetime, Jins acted in a total of 46 movies where 31 of these were produced in black and white while the rest were in colour. Jins began acting under P Ramlee in Pancha Delima which has a story line quite similar to that of Beauty and the Beast. In that 1958 film, Jins played the role of a bewitched snake that can only assume human form at night. Fate has it that he rescues a poor wood cutter and in return asks for one of his daughters. It is this beautiful damsel who helps Pancha Delima break his spell.  

Beginning his career with just supporting roles, Jins worked hard and picked up many pointers from P Ramlee. In time, he managed to convince the major movie players of his acting prowess. Then on, his career progressed rapidly, catapulting him to a series of leading roles in blockbuster movies like Sarjan Hassan (1958), Megat Terawis (1960), Si Tanggang (1961) and Neracha (1962).

Jins progressed a step further in 1969 when he gained enough confidence to start directing his own movies. In the tail end of the black and white movie era, Jins started assuming dual roles, a rare ability that few film stars possessed. He directed as well as acted in two the hugely popular films, Bukan Salah Ibu Mangandong (1969) and Di Belakang Tabir (1970).

To me, these films are especially significant because both featured P Ramlee playing supporting roles. It is said back then that is was next to impossible to get P Ramlee to act in a film that he did not directed himself. So the movie industry was pleasantly taken aback when the Malaysia's greatest film star humbled himself and agreed to act in both his protégé’s films. Perhaps P Ramlee thought that it was time he returned a favour as Jins had acted in his films for nearly 20 years.

Jins took a break after completing Di Belakang Tabir, which incidentally was his last film in black and white. We wanted to further his education. He saw this as a means to help him progress in a rapidly evolving film industry. Jins must have felt that things will never be the same again as the industry starts to embrace the technology to produce films in colour. Jins took a Diploma in Motion Picture Technology at the London Film School in 1970. He graduated two years later with first class honours.

Just two years ago, in 2015, Jins scored another first in the film industry when KRU Productions Prodigital Lab restored his highly successful Bukit Kepong from its film reel and re-released it in cinemas in digital HD format.
 Originally screened in 1981, Bukit Kepong won Jins the Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor awards in the 1982 Malaysia Film Festival. All in all, Bukit Kepong received seven awards that year.

Bukit Kepong tells of the sacrifices made by a team of police and the local villagers in a small Johor town. This heart wrenching tale is set during the time when the communist terrorist threat was at its peak in Malaya. Events in the movie finally culminated in the blood bath on 23 February 1950. Based on actual events in Malaysian history, this 2 hour long movie describes how 25 people were holed up in the Bukit Kepong Police Station. They were surrounded by 180 bandits bent on taking over the wooden building located just by the Muar River. The policemen and their families refused to surrender despite the fact that the bandits were far more superior in numbers and fire power. In the end, they chose death instead of abandoning their duties. This movie touched the hearts of Malaysians from all walks of life. It tells the story of patriotism, integrity and determination.

It is films like these that have kept my passion in movies burning strong. Over the years, I have been following Jins' silver screen career closely by collecting related materials like photographs, newspaper cuttings, film magazines as well as other memorabilia. Most of these are sourced at flea markets or through the Internet social media group postings. Among these, I like the Shaw Brothers Majallah Filem best of all. Compared to the other publications, it is far more superior both in terms of quality as well as content. Sadly, prices for these highly desirable magazines have been rising rapidly over the years and lately I can only afford to look and not buy any more.

In the political arena, Jins is known to be a strong supporter of the Alliance Party in Singapore. He was among the pioneers who sat in the UMNO pro tem committee in 1960. National archive records show that Jins is among the founding members of the Bukit Timah UMNO branch in Coronation Road. On 13 October 2004, Jins made history yet again when he became the first celebrity in the country to be elected to Malaysia's Upper House, the Dewan Negara.

Born Mohamed Zain bin Shamsuddin, our national art laureate is survived by his wife Puan Sri Halijah Abdullah and their two sons, Putera Hang Jebat and Putera Hang Nadim. He has another son, Jefri Jins from his earlier marriage with actress Rahmah Rahmat in Singapore in 1961.

The nation mourns its loss as the late Jins Shamsuddin in laid to rest in Masjid Ulu Klang. There will never be another Malaysian James Bond again. Rest in peace. You are gone but never forgotten.