Jamil Sulong
Jamil Sulong was a Malaysian actor, film director and scriptwriter. Known as a native from Parit Sulong, Johor. He wrote and directed many films under Malay Film Productions during his long career until his retirement in 2008. He is noted in the Malay cinema for his longevity and passion.
He died due to a common cold at the age of 88 on 25 September 2014 after visiting his grandchildren in Damansara.
Early life
He was the son of Sulong Mansor and Timun Manang. Sulong only attended Elementary School while living in the village. Later he showed interest in drawing comic books and writing musical lyrics in his youth days. In the late 1940s, he organized penulis ASAS '50 in Singapura and Melaka together with his longtime friend: Usman Awang, Yusof Harun, and Mokhtar Yasin.Filmmaking career
At first, Sulong worked in Malay Film Productions as an English and other language translator around 1948. He later became assistant director in 1951. In his early days of filmmaking, he was outshined by other Malaysian newcomer filmmakers at time, such as A.R. Tompel and P. Ramlee. His first directed film was Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup in 1959. Sulong is widely known for his role as the first Malaccan Sultan, Parameswara/Iskandar Syah in many Malaysian series during the 1960s and 70s.His first colore TV film was Permintaan Terakhir in 1975, starring famous actress of the time- Uji Rashid.