A national treasure worth visiting

GEORGE TOWN: He’s a Malaysian legend and the pride of Penang where he was born, but his childhood home here has become an obscure tourist attraction.

Despite its free entrance and national heritage status, there seem to be few visitors to P. Ramlee House located at Jalan P. Ramlee here.

The Star made a visit on a recent weekday and found the house, where the star grew up, rather deserted.

There were just a handful of visitors, accompanied by an employee assigned to man the small kampung house which is full of memorabilia representing P. Ramlee’s greatest works.

Factory worker Mohd Nizam Sabri, who was on a trip from Perak, said this was his first time visiting the house although he had been to Penang many times.

Time constraints had not allowed him to visit previously, he said.

“I know P. Ramlee was born and raised here.

“This is the place where information and history about him can be viewed and learned,” said Mohd Nizam, 35.

He said P. Ramlee was his favourite actor and his movies enthral him and his family and keep them spellbound to this day.

Besides Mohd Nizam, two other couples dropped by during The Star’s one-hour visit.

Most of them spent about 30 minutes at the house, taking photos and selfies.

Penang P. Ramlee Fan Club president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said it was sad that the historic home was neglected by most people when it should be a focal point for visitors.

He suggested travel agencies make it a point to place P. Ramlee House on their tour itinerary.

“There should also be more proactive promotions from the relevant authorities, such as state tourism bodies and the state government,” he added.

He said it was important that activities related to arts, culture and history be organised from time to time to ensure that P. Ramlee House is not sidelined.

“The government can also allow local residents to set up small businesses here,” Mohd Yussof said.

“Financial support from the state and central government should also be provided to ensure that this house does not deteriorate over time,” he added.

However, a National Archives of Malaysia spokesman maintained that the number of visitors had greatly improved compared with 2021 and 2022.

There had been over 30,000 visitors from January to October, compared with the 11,000 who came in 2021 and 20,000 last year, he said.

P. Ramlee House was reopened to the public on Oct 20 after it was temporarily closed in September for repairs to its damaged roof.

The home is open from 9am to 5pm from Tuesdays to Sundays.

On Fridays, the visiting hours are from 9am to noon and from 3pm to 5pm.

Admission is free and those who want to contribute to the upkeep of the house can do so via a donation box there.

Companies and organisations that wish to make a larger contribution can contact the National Archives of Malaysia.