A museum to commemorate eminent local film director the late Yasmin Ahmad is under threat of being closed down due to lack of funds.

To keep the museum running, a fundraising campaign has been launched through a crowdfunding website 'Start Some Good'.

According to the museum's crowdfunding website , the project needs to reach the tipping point goal of US$17,500 before Nov 24.

However, as of this morning, the campaign has only managed to secure US$10,003, with less than nine days left on the clock.

Generally, any crowdfunding campaign conducted through the web page will have a tipping point. If the amount collected does not meet the tipping point goal by a specific date, all the money would be returned to the donors.

The campaign's ultimate goal is to collect US$70,000.

In line with this campaign, a short video called 'Help the Museum of Yasmin Ahmad to survive" has been edited and uploaded to promote the fundraising campaign.

Sister campaigner

The Museum, called 'Yasmin At Kong Heng', is located in Ipoh, Perak, and was the brainchild of Yasmin's mother, Inom Yon.

It opened in November 2014 with the help of friends and fans of Yasmin.

The director - famed for just six feature films throughout her brief career - died in 2009 at age 51.

Her films - as well as her famous festive season Petronas advertisements - challenged ethnic stereotypes and boundaries.

"Please help; if you love Yasmin, please... ten dollars also can," said Orked Ahmad, Yasmin's sister.

She hopes the public will chip in to help the campaign reach its goal.

"Otherwise, we cannot meet the tipping point and this whole crowdfunding campaign cannot continue," Orked told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Orked said all this while, kind donors have helped fund the running of the museum.

She said, they managed to collect about RM30,000 in a fundraising dinner to kick off the museum in March or April last year but that money has run out.

"At that time, we wanted to establish this museum. Therefore we held a fundraising dinner and all of Yasmin's friends helped out; some of them sang, some sold paintings, or read poetry.

"In the end, we were able to collect RM30,000 and finally established this museum," she explained.

The money they are raising through the crowdfunding campaign, said Orked, is to upgrade the display and services.

"We want to do many things. We want to create a virtual museum, renovate the materials inside the museum and so on, but the problem is that we do not have enough money," said Orked.

Orked said they also plan to open the museum four days a week so that more people can visit the museum.

Currently, the museum is only open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays.

"My mother established the museum so that the spirit of Yasmin lives on," Orked explained.

Small push from friends

The crowdfunding campaign has received the backing of some local independent film directors.

Among them is director Liew Seng Tat, who uploaded the short video about the initiative so more people can find out about this campaign.

Liew is best known for ' Lelaki Harapan Dunia ' (Men who Save the World), which won the best film and director awards at this year's Malaysian Film Festival.

"If you have a little to spare, do donate to the museum," said Liew, whose winning film was also picked to represent Malaysia for Best Foreign Language Film in this year's Academy Awards.

"It's not just a museum to commemorate the late Yasmin Ahmad. It's also a resource centre curated with the objective of educating and inspiring others to write film or commercial scripts of their own.

"It is a small but flexible space where the late Yasmin Ahmad’s spirit, love, wisdom, and sense of humour can continue inspiring the next generation," Liew said.

Local independent musician Pete Teo also shared the short video on his Facebook page.

"Most of us, whether you are aware or not, owe a debt to Yasmin Ahmad.

"I certainly do. And Malaysia, absolutely so. I have pledged some money. Please can you do the same?" Teo posted.