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’.