Tan Sri Datuk Amar Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh (later Ramlee bin Puteh) (22 March 1929 – 29 May 1973), better known by his stage name P. Ramlee (Puteh Ramlee), was a Malaysian actor, filmmaker, musician, and composer famous in both modern-day Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand. Due to his contributions to the film and music industry and his literary work, which began with his acting debut in Singapore in 1948, to the height of his career and then later in Malaysia in 1964 to his decline and death, he is regarded as a prominent icon of Malay entertainment. His popularity has reached as far as Brunei, Indonesia, as well as in Hong Kong and Japan. Early life Ramlee was born on 22 March 1929 to Teuku Nyak Puteh Bin Teuku Karim (1902–1955) and Che Mah Binti Hussein (1904–1967). His father, Teuku Nyak Puteh, who was a descendant of a wealthy family in Aceh, migrated from Lhokseumawe in Aceh, (present day Indonesia) to settle in Penang, where he married Ramlee’s mother, who hailed from Kubang Buaya, Butterworth. Ramlee received his education from the Sekolah Melayu Kampung Jawa (Kampung Jawa Malay School), Francis Light English School and then to Penang Free School; in all he was registered as "Ramlee" by his father, because his name Teuku Zakaria was not suitable with other children at that time. Reportedly a reluctant and naughty student, Ramlee was nevertheless talented and interested in music and football. His studies at the Penang Free School were interrupted by the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, during which he enrolled in the Japanese navy school (Kaigun Gakko). He also learnt the basics of music and to sing Japanese songs during this period with his teacher, Hirahe-san. When the war ended, he took music lessons that enabled him to read musical notations. Name He abbreviated his name to P. Ramlee (Puteh Ramlee), taking inspiration from the Tamil patronymic naming conventions, where the initial stood for his father's name (Puteh) and was followed by his given name (Ramlee). Career By 1948, the 19 year-old Ramlee had already won a number of singing competitions, and was writing his own songs and playing the violin in a kroncong band. That year, B. S. Rajhans, a film director for the Malay Film Productions (MFP) came across P. Ramlee at a singing competition hosted by Radio Malaya in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Rajhans