The lost were-tiger!

The Book

Sitora Harimau Jadian (Sitora Were-Tiger, Malay; 1964)

When P. Ramlee relocated to Kuala Lumpur, he was disappointed with the inexperienced motley crew that he was left with, with the studio, perched in the middle of nowhere beside a zoo with tigers and other animals as neighbours. He was left at a cul-de-sac with the dearth of ideas for his next movie. Then an idea sparked. In the same vein as 'Werewolf of London' of 1935, he created a Malay horror movie with were-tiger as its theme. He named it Si-Tora, 'Tora' being tiger in Japanese as P. Ramlee knew the language. The outcome, 'Sitora Harimau Jadian' (1964) is not one of his better offerings and is said to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Conspiracy theorists insist that it intentionally went missing to satisfy certain quarters. During the preview of the movie, the censors walked out half an hour into the screening due to its dealing with supernatural and mystic elements.

The movie poster

The nearest now we can have to view this story is reading the 200 paged storybook which has re-released from its original text written in 1965 in Bahasa Kebangsaan. The 2012 version is written in old ala-P.Ramlee's styled Malay but with new spelling layout. The royalty from the sales apparently goes to P Ramlee's grandson.

The serenity of Kpg Kiambang is shattered with the manifestation of Sitora yet again to scare Pendekar Amin's pretty daughter, Naemah. The traditional healer, Tok Dukun is called to treat the unconscious lass. The healer, who is well aware of folklores and dealings with the supernatural reminds the warrior to pay the demon protection money to stop the harassments. Being the warrior that he was, he refused to heed to such blackmails. His entourage's attempt to confront the beast proved futile. In spite of stabbing Sitora, it managed to go invisible with its magical power.
The village folks report the incident to the police. OCPD Mutalib announces the arrival of a young doctor to the village to introduce modernity to the people. Dr Effendi (P. Ramlee) manages to revive the young maiden (Naemah) who later becomes his nurse in his newly set-up clinic. The arrival of modern medical services is resisted by Tok Dukun who feels that his rice bowl may be affected.

A page from the book

In the meantime, love blossoms between the young doctor and his nurse. Wedding arrangements are being made.

Sitora continues his terror. Pendekar Amin, his wife and three other warriors are killed. Eventually, Dr Effendi is attacked by Sitora, and he becomes Sitora's designated accomplice to continue the deathly trail of dead bodies whenever he sees himself in the mirror!

OCPD brings a more senior doctor from another town, a Dr Abu Bakar. In spite of being a man of science, his stay in Sarawak had opened his eyes to the possibility of the existence of forces beyond our comprehension. During a trip to Tok Dukun's shack, Dr Abu Bakar was told that the only way to defeat the demon was with a mystical stick (kayu tas).

During the climax, Sitora tricks his newfound aide, Dr Effendi, into kidnapping Naemah and killing her. Just in the nick of time, Dr Abu Bakar arrives at the scene and saves the day with his own possession of the mystical stick (kayu tas) which was presented to him by an Iban headman. Dr Effendi regains his usual self and sanity is restored in Kpg Kiambang.

I found this light book which is more like a pulp fiction where the story just keeps on flowing and very little cerebral involvement. The writer is not very imaginative in his description of the surroundings and setting of the set. The book was anyway meant to be for light reading, not to be a reference book for Malay literature!