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HAMZAH HUSSIN has called him the mogul of film.

Ho Ah Loke, always the modest one, would have smiled behind his extra thick glasses.

He used to say in jest thathe simply got by with the formula: one song, one dance, one laugh, one cry, one love. But he was in fact the greatest film producer in the history of Malaya. Hamzah Hussin, the veteran script writer and now of the Institute FINAS, in his book on the history of the Malayan film, claims that his name is a synonym for the history of the Malay film; its tsar

The tribute by his old friend was well deserved. Ah Loke made the first Malay colour film ( Bulu Perindu). He was the first producer to turn a local novel into a film: Harun Amir-al-Rashid’s pioneering novel became Cinta Gadis Rimba, a colour produced in Sarawak and directed by L Krishnan (now Dato Krishnan). One of the chiefs in Sarawak when the film was made was Temenggong Jugah, later to become its rather erratic governor. Ah Loke also produced the first local Chinese movie called Ask and It Shall Be Given (You kow pik ying) in Cantonese (1962)

As early as in 1951 the film Bunga Percintaan, an early production of Ah Loke in the studios of Rimau Film Productions produced two new stars, Mislia and Mustapha Maarof who were to prove the mainstays of many a film. J Anwardi says that it was Ah Loke, under the Cathay Keris banner, who made stars of S Roomai Noor,M Amin, Mat Sentol ( with Wahid Satay, Ah Loke’s favourite actor), Nordin Ahmad and Hussin Haniff. To this list must be added the names of Salmah Ahmad, Siput Sarawak , Kasmah Booty, and Maria Menado, made a household name by Pontianak. Then there was Latifah Omar, called by Hamzah Hussin the prima donna of Cathay-Keris, who appeared with Nordin Ahmad r in Gurindam Jiwa, 1965.

M Amin also made a name as assistant director of the film classic, Hang Jebat, directed by Hussin Haniff, who was himself an actor. So did S Roomai Noorwho directed the Cathay Keris film Mat Tiga Suku, featuring Mat Sentol in 1964.

PEOPLE Home Book Review Comment Concerns Concordance Heritage News People Page 11	Tzar HAMZAH HUSSIN has called him the mogul of film. Ho Ah Loke, always the modest one, would have smiled behind his extra thick glasses. He used to say in jest thathe simply got by with the formula: one song, one dance, one laugh, one cry, one love. But he was in fact the greatest film producer in the history of Malaya. Hamzah Hussin, the veteran script writer and now of the Institute FINAS, in his book on the history of the Malayan film, claims that his name is a synonym for the history of the Malay film; its tsar The tribute by his old friend was well deserved. Ah Loke made the first Malay colour film ( Bulu Perindu). He was the first producer to turn a local novel into a film: Harun Amir-al-Rashid’s pioneering novel became Cinta Gadis Rimba, a colour produced in Sarawak and directed by L Krishnan (now Dato Krishnan). One of the chiefs in Sarawak when the film was made was Temenggong Jugah, later to become its rather erratic governor. Ah Loke also produced the first local Chinese movie called Ask and It Shall Be Given (You kow pik ying) in Cantonese (1962) As early as in 1951 the film Bunga Percintaan, an early production of Ah Loke in the studios of Rimau Film Productions produced two new stars, Mislia and Mustapha Maarof who were to prove the mainstays of many a film. J Anwardi says that it was Ah Loke, under the Cathay Keris banner, who made stars of S Roomai Noor,M Amin, Mat Sentol ( with Wahid Satay, Ah Loke’s favourite actor), Nordin Ahmad and Hussin Haniff. To this list must be added the names of Salmah Ahmad, Siput Sarawak , Kasmah Booty, and Maria Menado, made a household name by Pontianak. Then there was Latifah Omar, called by Hamzah Hussin the prima donna of Cathay-Keris, who appeared with Nordin Ahmad r in Gurindam Jiwa, 1965. M Amin also made a name as assistant director of the film classic, Hang Jebat, directed by Hussin Haniff, who was himself an actor. So did S Roomai Noorwho directed the Cathay Keris film Mat Tiga Suku, featuring Mat Sentol in 1964.
From Guiana to Penang	Abraham Ho Ah Loke, popularly known as Ah Loke, or Abe, was born in 1901 in British Guiana. He had come on a visit to Penang after his sister had married a son of pioneer rice miller Phuah Hin Leong, Lim Cheng Ean, later to become famous in the Straits Settlements when he walked out of the SS Legislative Council after a clash with the Governor Sir Cecil Clementi over education. A brother, Philip Hoalim, went on to Singapore to become a famous civil lawyer specialising in chancery cases. Ah Loke came to like the country and stayed, except for a brief period at Hong Kong University where he studied engineering. According to a letter to the Straits Times of October 19, 1982 by NBP of Kajang, who was with him at Hong Kong U and himself a member of the Selangor Cricket Club Selection Committee before and after the war, Ah Loke and Datuk Syed Omar Shahabuddin were the outstanding athletes of the day produced by HKU. NBP recalls that cricketers remembered him as the super bowler who took three wickets for 8 runs in the unforgettable CRC v Selangor match in the pre-Japanese occupation years. Lee Kuan Yew an early Comptroller of Income Tax recalls that he and other athletes regarded Ah Loke as one of Malays's greatest atheletes Ah Loke's brave plunge into the world of the cinema was as simple as it was stark. It was in 1925. Armed with a simple projector he roamed the countryside where he introduced the kampong to the new miracle of the flickering images on the screen. He teamed up with Runme Shaw, a tough immigrant from Shanghai, ever ready with the use of the knuckle duster, to run a “mosquito lorry”, hopping from village to village showing Charlie Chaplin films in make shift tents for which the entrance fee was a few cents, cheaper than the 3^rd class seat at the cinema, but expensive when a plate of rice and curry and a piece of fish cost only 3 cents
From Tents to Halls	The tents were but the first manifestation of his passion. He was to go on to buy The Union hall in Ipoh, 1926, then the Oriental in 1930, theSun in Taiping; then more purchases in Telok Anson and Kampar then on to Klang where he bought The Regalin 1934. He sold off to Runme Shaw in 1934 but came back to buy the Odeon in KL then Odeon, Ipoh, and Odeon, Penang. When the Japanese invaded Malaya Ah Loke was already a force in the distribution and showing of films. But he went off to Thailand to avoid the Japanese. It is said that he went into mining with Thai generals, returning only after the Japanese army surrendered in 1945.His former partner Runme Shaw was in Singapore where, working with the Japanese occupation army he was able not only to preserve his Great World Amusement Park but extended his wealth to include the Rice Kumiai, the Japanese rice monopoly Those who worked with Ah Loke remembered him foremost for his generosity. Mahmud Jun the star of Bangsawan remembered the day when he was introduced to Ah Loke, “the guy with $150 in his right trouser pocket, $5 and $10 notes in the left hand pocket and a couple of shillings in the shirt pocket”. Ah Loke at once offered him a salary of $150 a month plus a bonus of $350 each movie plus free housing. He recalls that Ah Loke stuffed some notes into his hand on parting. He dared not look down at the notes clutched in his hand. When he got home he discovered he was richer by $180, an enormous sum of money. Bangsawan’s star was to become Cathay Keris’s leading crook, earning $400 a month which plus bonuses gave him more than $1000 a month, a truly grand income, when clerks were taking home $50 a month. Hamzah Hussin recalls that it was typical of the man that when someone came asking for $100 to help him out Ah Loke would give him $300. Each day he would cash cheques for up to 3000 dollars, in preparation for the many who would in the course of the day touch him for loans which were nearly always never paid back in full Informality marked his style. Hamzah Hussin recalls how he was recruited: “He chucked the key to my new office at me and said, “Youcome and work for me”. Hamzah recalls that the first person he met on his first day at work was Peterson the secretary. Hamzah Hussin was with him 10 years up to the day Ah Loke left Cathay
Malay films from the start	Ah Loke started making Malay films early in the day. Untuk Sesuap Nasi directed by L Krishnan and Bunga Percintaan were the earliest produced by Rimau Film Productions, a joint venture between Gian Singh & Co and Cathay organisation.In 1951 Ah Loke launched his own Keris Film Studios announcing that he was challenging the “Shanghai group” with Malay film productions. Keris’ first film was Perwira Lautan Teduh in colour. In 1952 Keris launched Setia and Ramlee Ramlah (1952)both directed byJaafar Wiryo and written by A Razak. Actors were from Indonesia among them Raden Tominah, Raden Juriah, Raden Sudiro and the young girl Julie Sudiro.Setia broke with the bangsawan tradition. Ramlee Ramlah was against forced marriages. The negatives of both were sadly lost in transport for processing in London. In 1948 Ah Loke met Loke Wan Tho the art loving son of Loke Yew, and ran Cathay cinema for him, creating the biggest cinema chain in Asia. At first Cathay showed only Hindi and Indonesian films but Ah Loke started it on the new road of showing Malay films. With Cathay Organisation as partner Ah Loke set up Cathay Keris productions in 1954 taking over Keris Films. Cathay Keris’ first Malay film in colour was Bulu Perindu directed by B S Rajhans.It was not box office but it was historic. Cathay Keris also produced Pontianak (1957) directed by B N Roa with Maria Menado in the lead role. Although in black and white Pontianak was a runaway success, especially in the new republic of Indonesia where it ran to full houses. Two sequels, Dendam Pontianak and Sumpah Pontianak, were both money spinners. Pontianak also turned Wahid Satay into a star. That film had a traumatic effect on the general public. Young men, driving from Johore to KL giving lifts to lovely girls claimed that when they turned round to chat up their cargo they found to their horror that their new found friend had disappeared, depositing only a fleetingly sweet, if evil, fragrance on the car seat. In its first year Cathay Keris produced six films which were directed by B S Rajkumar and L Krishnan. But with new studios 170 films were made among them Mahsuri , Hang Jebat, and Patong Cendana, considered by critics to be classics. Mahsuri, 1958 was a hit done with the co-operation of Tunku Abdul Rahman with Hamzah Hussein at the script. That the stunningly beautiful Kasmah Booty, the acknowledged queen of film, was Mahsuri no doubt contributed to the films moments of glory. Azan (1954) directed by L Krishnan starred S Roomai Noor and Salleh Ghani who later became a director; Hang Tua, in colour, directed by Phani Majmudar; Semerah Padi, Raden Emas,a bangsawan film, Jula Juli Bintang Tiga, a comedy, Rasa Sayang Eh; Duka Nestapa, 1955 directed by L Krishnan was bought by the Chinese government; Insaf and Terang Bulan di Malaya, directed by B S Rajhans; Mega Mendon, Nafsu, Tangisan Ibu, Pertarungan directed by L Krishnan, and Bunga Percintaan. For his friends among the Bangawan people Ah Loke produced Selindang Delima,a popular bangsawan story, which set a new trend which Shaw Productions was to follow. With its great output Cathay Keris had at last met its target, the overshadowing of Shaw Bros. But Ah Loke, always restless, soon left the Cathay and with the entrepreneur H M Shah set up Merdeka Studios because he believed the future lay in Malaysia, not Singapore. L Krishnan was again hired as director. The stars Mustafa Maarof, Abdullah Chik and Salmah Ahmad came together to make Tun Tejah, 1961, a historical film. It had the honour of a royal command performance before the Sultan of Selangor. Merdeka Studios also produced Abu Nawas and Tun Fatimah. Altogether !4 pictures were made. 4 directed by L Krishnan and 5 by Salleh Ghani. Abu Nawas, 1961, was a comedy directed by A R Tompel. The singer M Marsati directed Jambatan Maut but neither were successes.
A Man of Vision	Ah Loke’s flexibility and ability to team up with various personalities for his main hobby of film making impressed those who knew him. One other person, Ong Keng Huat of Penang was also in the business of film making His Nusantara Films was later to team up with Ah Loke in United Film Productions. Ho Ah Loke, writes Hamzah Hussin in his memoirs was a man of vision who saw that there was no future for the industry if it did not break out of the traditional outlets – Indonesia was the future. So it came about that he, Wasaichi Nagata, from a Japanese studio, Pastunji of Thailand and Djamaludin Malik of Indonesia met to try and form an Asian film body. In 1960 he ventured into joint production with the Indonesians in Hilang Gelap Datang Terang; but he was nervous about the future. Already TV was casting a long shadow and Ah Loke did not want to be left carrying a dying industry. He sold his shares in Merdeka Studios to H M Shah for $250,000. The studios finally went to FINAS Hamzah Hussin recalls that Ah Loke was keen to sponsor the young P Ramlee, in whom he had observed a great talent. In the sixties the actor visited him with the actress Musalmah. The generous Abe at once gave him a house to stay in. That was in the 1960s. Hamzah Hussin recalls that Abe wanted to start a unit called P Ramlee Productions He offered Ramlee a salary of $30,000 a month, income tax to be paid by the company. For some reason, Ramlee turned him down and joined Shaw Malay Film Productions instead. Ramlee changed his mind later but Hamzah remembering the hurt Ramlee had inflicted on Ah Loke, did not bring up the Ramlee proposal. But the two did come together eventually forming Perfima Perusahan Filem Malaysia Ah Loke was keen to broaden the vision of cinema folk and was one of the those instrumental in forming the Federation of Motion Picture Producers of South East Asia, later renamed Federation of Asian Motion Pictures Producers. In 1954 he and Wan Tho launched the Film Festival of South East Asia now called the Asian Film Festival; it became an annual affair. He was also president of the Malaysian Producers Association. The man who, J Anwardi says, “nearly single handedly brought the Malaysian film industry to its glory days in the late fifties and early sixties” died on the 16^th September, 1982, the day after the 27^th Asian Film Festival which he helped to pioneer 27 years before. But the actors and actresses who worked with him did not forget him. Ah Loke, although well known as the sailor with a girl at every port, drew the line when it came to his actresses. At 80, he was the guest of honour at their film festival. FINAS in recognition of his unforgettable contribution gave him a posthumous award, the Hadiah Cemerlang Untuk Filem Melayu. It was a fitting tribute to an indefatigable maker of unforgettable films and a discoverer of a galaxy of stars. # *Hamzah Hussein, entertainment journalist in the 50s first joined Cathay Keris as public relations officer. He went on to write screen plays Rumah Itu Duniaku, Tun Fatimah (Merdeka Studios) , Mahsuri, Gurindam Jiwa. His book, Memoir Hamzah Hussin “Dari Keris Film ke Studio Merdeka,” Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan (1997) is available at the Universiti Kebangsaan.
The Penang File Issue 12	Technical advice for The Penang File: Tony Ooi
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