Lat (draftsman)

Lat

Lat (born March 5, 1951 in Kota Bahru , Malaysia ), whose real name is Mohamad Nor bin Khalid , is the most famous Malaysian draftsman and caricaturist .

life and work

Lat grew up in simple circumstances in a typical Malay Kampong ( stilt house village ) in northern Malaysia ( Perak state ). As a student at Ipoh , encouraged by his teacher, he felt that he had a talent for drawing. His classmates also repeatedly urged him to draw comic strips for them . In 1964, at the age of 13, he decided to offer the story "Tiga Sekawan" to a publisher in Penang . This published it and thus gave the starting signal for Lat's career as the most famous Malaysian cartoonist.

In 1974 the New Straits Times decided to employ a cartoonist for the first time in its history. Since then, Lat has been drawing scenes from Malaysian life three times a week for the New Straits Times. Lat depicts the effects of politics and social changes from the point of view of the common man. Often he also draws himself, for example as a little boy, mostly in the role of the unlucky one, a bit plump and with tousled black hair. Lat's cartoons are not only a great success in Malaysia, but are also appreciated in Japan , the USA and increasingly also in Europe .

Lat received honors from sultans and the Malaysian king for his work . In addition to a number of books and comic albums, a cartoon series for children with the title "Kampung boy" was created, which was released in German as well as in English (" Die Dschungelbande ").

Web links

Commons : Lat  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Literature by and about Lat in the catalog of the German National Library
• Lat at lambiek.net (English)