Monday, March 29, 2010

Hats Off to Jins!

A piece of wonderful news from a veteran actor. A rave in his heyday , Mohd Zain Shamsudin or Jins Shamsudin as he is popularly known has just earned himself a PhD. It was conferred on Mar 27, 2010 at the UUM’s 23rd convocation in Sintok, Kedah

The area of studies revolved around what he knows best ie 'Filem Melayu 1930-an hingga 1960-an Sebagai Citra Budaya dan Sejarah Negara' or roughly ‘Malay Films from the 30’s to the 60’s as a Cultural Heritage and National History’ ( ?for want of a better translation!)

Senator Tan Sri Dr Jins Shamsudin achieved it at age 75, probably the oldest in the history of the UUM. This capped his earlier stint at the London Film School from 1970 till 1972 where he honed his skills on the intricacies of film making. He came back with a Diploma.

This is reminiscent of the accomplishments of other men of letters before him. They were already recognized in their own fields (as writers) but went academically further for their PhDs such as Tan Sri Awang Had, Datuk MKY, and the late Datuk Atan Long among others.

For Tan Sri Dr Jins, what makes it more commendable was the fact that it was all accomplished on his own resources.

He had utilised RM30,000 part of the RM60,000 that he received when he was bestowed the coveted Seniman Negara Award before. There were no grants given nor crying or whining for financial assistance.

The Arts and Cultural scene were all the more richer as there’s a dearth of works done on this subject. It would have required extending some form of financial assistance/grants to undertake such projects which would certainly be more than the modest sum spent by Tan Sri Dr Jins.

Not just that, he had also to ply up and down the North South Highway for 2 years from KL to Sintok and back. It is no mean feat to do in your ‘golden years’.

9 comments:

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hank,
I just wondered what were the credentials used by Jins to be admitted as a PhD candidate or the UUM waived all the criteria because he had been an actor and director of Malay films.
Though his perseverance in pursuing the PhD is commendable, but we should also not let the academic credentials be waived at will. UUM perhaps bent the rules too much to acommodate Jins and wanted to capitalise on his popularity.

kaykuala said...

Dear Hal,
Unlike MU, admission apparently thru Extension Programs for mature students. A premium is given for life's work, corporate experience coupled with course work and attendance (typically for a Masters but rarely a PhD though) They must have taken cognizance of his Diploma to start with and in this case his unique life's achievements (in the same league only with Tan Sri P Ramlee)The Fine Arts scene is all the richer with his inputs and that's what matters.

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hank,
I doubt very much his doctoral dissertation will have any impact on the upliftment of Malay film industry as such, as it would be read by a miniscule number of those involved in research.
He would be more productive if he could nurture more talented people in the Malay film industry and add more quality titles to the the presently increasing quantity but of questionable quality.

kaykuala said...

Dear Hal,
I see it more of a point of reference/comparison to present day efforts. It is a start. I'm sure it incorporates proposals for improvement for later players to pick up from. His contributions may come as a speaker now that he's qualified.

norzah said...

Huh, finally I got through. 4 kali cuba but the computer hung up on me.

I'm sure UUM had loosened a bit the requirements to do a PhD for off-campus students. The British system is much easier, no comprehensive xm, don't know if there's any credit requirement, and the dissertation requires no quantitative support. I remember sdr Arif Ahmad also got his PhD from Universiti Sains as an off-campus student.

Camne sr Halim dan KK? Nak cuba pulak ke? I'd love to get a copy of his dissertation. My youngest sister Dr Norzah also got her Masters and PhD that way from Universiti Kebangsaan. It's possible with patience and some hard work, hehe.

abdulhalimshah said...

Sdr Norzah,
I asked the question a long time ago, as what is the rationale for pursuing it, but convinced myself that I would not want to go through such a stressful process anymore. No, thanks!

kaykuala said...

Sdr Norzah,
I'm sure there were forces that persuaded Tan Sri to venture in, afterall there's only 1 Jins and if the 1 Jins didn't do it, it'll be forever lost, otherwise.

Since, 1)no one persuaded me and 2) there's so many Hanks for a start. So it's a non- starter!

Al-Manar said...

I feel like an intruder,barging into what appears to be close members of a group. A sour grape no doubt, I have little respect for many who seem to crave to be addressed as 'Doktor'. I see this in many of the so-called 'pakar motivasi'. I wonder how I would carry myself if I were a 'Datuk Doktor Professor Hj' so and so. Once I had a professor, a professional engineer with Phd and all who enjoyed being addressed simply as 'Tom'. So were the other English lectueres of that university. I am sorry for being a non-conformist Melayu.

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Pak Cik Hassan,
You are most welcomed to join us as we do not practice any form of discrimination here. By all means do contribute your comments so that we all the wiser and we do not feel intimidated by non-conformist Malays who actually open the minds of our people.