Members of the public who are keeping works by the late P Ramlee have been urged to hand them over to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.

Ministry chief secretary Isham Ishak said this would ensure that his works are preserved as an art collection and national heritage.

“If there are members of his family or the public who are keeping the works of the late Ramlee which they got from their grandparents, we hope they will inform us of them.

"If these items are in their keeping, there is a chance that they will not be cared for, so give it to us (the ministry), the National Library, the National Heritage Department or the museum, so that any damage can be repaired and the items taken good care of," he said.

Isham was speaking to reporters after the launching ceremony of the 'Let’s Read Together for 10 Minutes 2019 programme in Kuala Lumpur today.

Yesterday, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi said his ministry, through the National Heritage Department, had declared 255 pieces as National Heritage in various categories.

Mohamaddin said 149 of these were works of Ramlee, including compositions of songs and two trophies he won at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival – the Best Comedy Film Award for Madu Tiga in 1964 and the Multi-Talented Actor Award in 1965.

Meanwhile, about six million people participated in today's programme which was conducted simultaneously throughout the country today.

The programme is an initiative aimed at fostering public interest in reading even if only for 10 minutes, as well as a support programme for all libraries in Malaysia working with government agencies to foster the reading habit among the public.

- Bernama