LAT, THE KAMPUNG BOY, A HIT IN WASHINGTON DC

(Bernama News)

By Salmy Hashim

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Bernama) -- Lat, Malaysia's famous cartoonist, drew a crowd of Malaysian and American fans here Tuesday who could not get enough of his depiction of the simple life of a kampung boy in Kampung Lalang in Kota Baru, Perak.

Datuk Mohammed Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, who is here to promote his Kampung Boy and Town Boy books published in English by the First Second, a publishing company in New York, talked about his simple childhood.

He talked about his "fierce" cane-wielding teacher at the "English Language" school, and how he thought that there were nine days of the week in English (including Yesterday and Everyday), his contributions on "Keluarga Si-Mamat" to Berita Minggu and his first cartoon book at age 13.

Lat earned as much as a clerk from his contributions to Berita Minggu, a huge amount then for a young boy, and did not forget to give his parents ten ringgit each every month. His father, who also loved to draw and play musical instruments, encouraged him to pursue his passion more than 40 years ago.

His books are also available in French, Japanese and Portuguese. Talks are ongoing to have them published in Italian, Spanish and Korean.

On why his book sells in other languages, the cartoonist said people were naturally drawn to other cultures and different experiences. "When people see my drawings of houses on stilts, they want to know who live there? Who are these people?"

He was invited by the Malaysian embassy and the Malaysian American Society (MAS) to speak on his passion to Malaysians and friends of Malaysia who include Americans who had served in Malaysia as diplomats and members of the Peace Corps and others who have links with Malaysia.

While here, he was invited to speak at the 12th annual meeting of the International Comics Forum hosted by the Library of Congress and to display his works at the "Treasures of Caricature Art" exhibition at the Library of Congress from October 18 to 20.

Lat and American cartoonist Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher also participated in a special panel discussion, "Iconophobia: Comics, Politics and the Power of the Image," at George Washington University's Gelman Library.

Earlier in New York, he spoke at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, The Jefferson Market Library, and at a school in Brooklyn.

He heads for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York from Wednesday before returning to Malaysia on October 29.

Lat also recalled how he contributed his cartoons to Majalah Filem, an entertainment magazine in Singapore, where he was paid in movie tickets issued by Shaw Brothers.

"I'm still drawing for tickets," he grinned, saying that his trip here was sponsored by Malaysia Airlines, Petronas and the Malaysian government.

-- BERNAMA

We provide (subscription-based)
news coverage in our Newslink service.