KUALA LUMPUR: The distribution of royalties for the works of the late Tan Sri P Ramlee to his beneficiaries will be ending after the 50th anniversary of his death on May 29 next year.
Under the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, royalties have been previously disbursed to his late wife Puan Sri Saloma until her death on April 25, 1983.
This was then continued with his late son Nasir P. Ramlee who had distributed the royalties to a few other beneficiaries as well.
When Nasir died on Nov 28, 2008, the royalties contract was managed by the Music Authors' Copyright Protection (MACP) which distributed the monies to Ramlee's other beneficiaries including his 63-year-old son, Sazali.
In light of the contract expiring in about five months after the 50-year period, many industry practitioners have called upon the distribution of royalties to be extended for another 20 years.
MACP has taken up this issue but is currently waiting for a response from the government.
"MACP has not been silent on this matter and we are putting in the effort to extend the copyright period of the works of P Ramlee for another 20 years.
"We have already sent a letter to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) since the act relating to copyright is under their purview.
"Last September during an official visit by the KPDN secretary-general to our office, the same proposal was brought up and discussed.
"As this issue is related to national treasure, we have also sent a letter to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture for evaluation.
"In these letters we outlined the report and rationale as to why the contract should be extended.
"We have tried our best and it is now up to the government to make a decision," said MACP's Head of Legal and International Affairs, Rashidah Ridha, in a news report today.
She added: "P. Ramlee's works are very unique. We cannot compare him to others since after close to five decades of his passing, his works are still being used and vastly appreciated."
"This effort is not only limited to P Ramlee alone but with other arts practitioners as well.
"If possible, hopefully it can be done this year since the process to extend the copyright period takes a long time as it involves amending the law.
"This process requires approval from the Cabinet. But we understand the current situation, which might make it hard to get a quick decision.
"We will not give up and continue to pursue this proposal in order to gain the attention of the government for the sake of the welfare of the MACP members," she said.
In previous reports, Sazali had pleaded with the government to take his suggestion of extending the royalties contract of his father into consideration.
Sazali also revealed that he was sickly and depended solely on the royalties to pay for both his and his wife, Hamidah Hitam's medical costs.