Lat

Dato' Mohammad Nor bin Mohammad Khalid (محمد نور بن محمد خالد; born 5 March 1951), more commonly known as Lat, is a Malaysian cartoonist.

Mohammad Nor Mohd Khalid was born on 5 March 1951 in Kota Bharu, a small settlement located in Gopeng, Perak, Malaysia.

His father, Mohd Khalid Mohd Noh was a government clerk with the Malaysian Armed Forces, and his mother, Nor Azian Said, a housewife.

Khalid was a stocky boy with a cherubic face, which led his family to nickname him bulat (round).

His friends shortened it to "Lat"; it became the name by which he was more commonly known in his kampung and later in the world.

Lat was the eldest child in his family, and he often played in the jungles, plantations, and tin mines with his friends.

Their toys were usually improvised from everyday sundries and items of nature.

Lat liked to doodle with materials provided by his parents, and his other forms of recreation were reading comics and watching television; Lat idolised local cartoonist Raja Hamzah, who was popular with his tales of swashbuckling Malay heroes.

Malaysian art critic and historian Redza Piyadasa believes Lat's early years in the kampung ingrained the cartoonist with pride in his kampung roots and a "peculiarly Malay" outlook—"full of [...] gentleness and refinement".

Lat's formal education began at a local Malay kampung (village) school; these institutions often taught in the vernacular and did not aspire to academic attainment.

Lat paid attention to family life and children because of his idolisation of Raja Hamzah, a senior cartoonist who was also popular in the 1960s with his comics about swashbuckling heroes.

Rejabhad, a well-respected cartoonist, was Lat's mentor, and imbued the junior cartoonist with a preference to be sensitive to the subjects of his works.

Lat's attention to details gained him popularity, endearing his works to the masses who find them believable and unbiased.

Aside from writing and publishing cartoons, Lat has ventured into the fields of animation, merchandising, and theme parks with his creations.

His name and works are recognised internationally; foreign cartoonists, such as Matt Groening and Sergio Aragonés, admire his art, and foreign governments invite Lat to tour their countries, hoping to gain greater exposure for their countries through Lat's cartoons of his experiences in them.

After 27 years of living and working in Kuala Lumpur, Lat moved back to Ipoh for a more sedate lifestyle in semi-retirement.

The boy changed schools several times; the nature of his father's job moved the family from one military base to another across the country, until they settled back at his birthplace in 1960.

A year later, Lat passed the Special Malay Class Examination, qualifying him to attend an English medium boarding school—National Type Primary School—in the state's capital, Ipoh.

His achievement helped his father make the decision to sell their kampung estate and move the family to the town; society in those days considered education at an English medium school a springboard to a good future.

Lat continued his education at Anderson School, Perak's "premier non-missionary English medium school".

Redza highlights Lat's move to Ipoh for higher schooling as a significant point in the cartoonist's development; the multi-racial environment helped establish his diverse friendships, which in turn broadened his cultural perspectives.

At the age of nine, Lat began to supplement his family's income through his artistic skills by drawing comics and selling them to his friends.

Four years later, in 1964, the young cartoonist achieved his first published work: a local movie magazine—Majalah Filem—printed his comic strips, paying him with movie tickets.

Lat's first comic book publication, Tiga Sekawan Menangkap Penchuri (Three Friends Catch a Thief), was published by Sinaran Brothers that year.

The company had accepted Lat's submission, mistaking him for an adult and paying him 25 Malaysian ringgits (RM) for a story about three friends who band together to catch thieves.

In 1974, he switched careers to be an editorial cartoonist.

His works, reflecting his view about Malaysian life and the world, are staple features in national newspapers such as New Straits Times and Berita Minggu.

He adapted his life experiences and published them as his autobiographies, The Kampung Boy and Town Boy, telling stories of rural and urban life with comparisons between the two.

Lat's style has been described as reflective of his early influences, The Beano and The Dandy.

He has, however, come into his own way of illustration, drawing the common man on the streets with bold strokes in pen and ink.

A trademark of his Malay characters is their three-loop noses.

Lat's best known work is The Kampung Boy (1979), which has been published in several countries across the world.

In 1994, the Sultan of Perak bestowed him the honorific title of datuk, in recognition of the cartoonist's work in helping to promote social harmony and understanding through his cartoons.

Lat also works for the government to improve the city's social security.

Born in a village, Lat spent his youth in the countryside before moving to the city at the age of 11.

While in school, he supplemented his family's income by contributing cartoon strips to newspapers and magazines.

He was 13 years old when he achieved his first published comic book, Tiga Sekawan (Three Friends Catch a Thief).

After failing to attain the grades that were required to continue education beyond high school, Lat became a newspaper reporter.

Winner of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2002, Lat has published more than 20 volumes of cartoons since he was 13 years old.

His works mostly illustrate Malaysia's social and political scenes, portraying them in a comedic light without bias.