Film: a national heritage

Abstract

The National Film Department Of Malaysia, or better known as Filem Negara Malaysia, is the pioneer of film making in Malaysia. It is a department under the umbrella of the Information Ministry of Malaysia. Established in 1946, this government agency was first known ' as the Malayan Film Unit. Filem Negara Malaysia began in circumstances rather beyond the ordinary. The idea of a Government Film Unit in this country stirred in the mind of a prisoner-of- war in Changi jail during the Japanese Occupation. And here it could well have remained an empty dream but for a fortuitous event. At the end of World War II a British Army Film Unit of the Burma Campaign came down to Singapore and was disbanded - leaving its equipment for sale to any ready buyer. Thus with the timely purchase of discarded wartime equipment, the Malayan Film Unit was started in 1946 on the site of an abandoned Japanese paper mill off Jalan Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. It consisted of a Production Crew of the British Crown Film Unit and a few locals. From such humble origins, the Film Unit, as symbolised by the leaping Tiger, has progressed by leaps and bounds. Today Filem Negara Malaysia is a national institution with a proud tradition of service to the nation and an established reputation in the documentary film making world. It is self contained with some of the best modern motion picture cameras, sound recording machines and laboratory facilities. It can undertake every aspect of Film Production and Laboratory Services.