The story

From kampung boy to National Artist.

Five chapters from a kampung in Perak to the drawing board, the page and the screen, then the years in order.

Lat’s signature with four Kampung Boys, one flying a paper plane
This is me in front of our house

“This is me in front of our house”: the house his grandfather gave to his father, from The Kampung Boy.

1951–1964

Kampung Boy

Mohammad Nor Khalid was born on 5 March 1951 and grew up in a kampung in Kota Baru, near Ipoh, Perak, where he lived until he was seventeen.

He was drawing early. In 1964, aged 13, he saw his first cartoon, Tua Keladi, printed in Singapore’s Majallah Filem. That June, Sinaran Brothers published his comic book Tiga Sekawan. The publisher did not know the artist was a schoolboy.

Tiga Sekawan (1964), his first comic book.
Tiga Sekawan (1964), his first comic book.
Nasi Padang / Ah Keong / Ponnu

Nasi Padang, Ah Keong and Ponnu: three neighbours, one table.

1964–1984

Scenes of Malaysian Life

Through the late 1960s he drew for Utusan Malaysia and Berita Minggu, where Keluarga Si Mamat ran every week for twenty-six years.

After his Senior Cambridge exams in 1970 he moved to Kuala Lumpur as a crime reporter, and kept drawing. In 1974 Asia Magazine published Bersunat, which brought him international notice.

At the New Straits Times he began Scenes of Malaysian Life and, after a course at St Martin’s School of Art in London, became the paper’s full-time cartoonist.

The upih pinang race

The upih pinang race, from The Kampung Boy.

1979

The Kampung Boy

Published in 1979, The Kampung Boy sold more than 60,000 copies in three months. Lat’s account of growing up in the kampung was later translated into 14 languages.

The Kampung Boy (1979).
The Kampung Boy (1979).
The Kampung Boy (colour)

The Kampung Boy, in colour.

1984–1999

Beyond the page

Lat left the New Straits Times in 1984 to work freelance. In 1989 he published the graphic novel Mat Som, later adapted for film by Prof Dr Hatta Azad Khan.

From 1995 to 1997 he worked with teams in Beverly Hills and the Philippines on 26 episodes of Kampung Boy, an animated series in English and Malay first shown in 1999 on Nickelodeon Asia and ASTRO. That year its episode Oh, Tok! won Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

A frame from the Kampung Boy animated series.
A frame from the Kampung Boy animated series.
Tioman

Tioman, in Lat’s watercolour.

2002–2024

National treasure

He received the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2002 and the Merdeka Award in 2014, presented by Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak.

In 2023 Sultan Nazrin Shah named him Seniman DiRaja, Royal Artist. At the Anugerah Seni Negara 2024 he received the Anugerah Seniman Negara, the National Artist Award.

Six decades

1951 to 2026, year by year.

  1. 1951

    Born 5 March. Grows up in a kampung in Kota Baru, near Ipoh, Perak, until the age of seventeen.

    Lat's cartoon of himself as a boy in front of the family house
    “This is me in front of our house.” Lat's kampung home, as he drew it. Cartoon © Lat
  2. 1964

    Aged 13, his first cartoon, Tua Keladi, appears in Singapore's Majallah Filem. In June his comic book Tiga Sekawan is published by Sinaran Brothers, who didn't know the artist was a schoolboy.

    Cover of Tiga Sekawan (1964)
    Tiga Sekawan, 1964.
  3. 1964–1968

    Draws for Utusan Malaysia and Berita Minggu, where Keluarga Si Mamat runs weekly for twenty-six years.

    Lat at fifteen
    Lat at fifteen, about 1966. Photo courtesy of Lat
  4. 1970

    After his Senior Cambridge exams he moves to Kuala Lumpur as a crime reporter, but keeps drawing.

    Lat with visiting pupils at Balai Berita, 1978
    At Balai Berita, the New Straits Times offices, 13 April 1978. Photo: NSTP
  5. 1974

    Asia Magazine publishes Bersunat, bringing international recognition. At the New Straits Times he begins Scenes of Malaysian Life and becomes the paper's full-time cartoonist after a course at St Martin's School of Art, London.

    First panel of Bersunat, Asia Magazine, 1974
    Bersunat, as printed in Asia Magazine, 1974. Cartoon © Lat. Clipping: NSTP
  6. 1979

    The Kampung Boy is published and sells over 60,000 copies in three months. It is later translated into 14 languages.

    Cover of the first edition of The Kampung Boy, 1979
    The Kampung Boy, first edition, 1979. Cover © Lat
  7. 1984

    Leaves the New Straits Times to work freelance.

    A young Lat drawing at his desk
    Lat at the drawing board.
  8. 1989

    Publishes the graphic novel Mat Som, later filmed by Prof Dr Hatta Azad Khan.

    Mat Som in Malay and English editions
    Mat Som, in Malay (1989) and English (2004). Photo: ISEAS Library
  9. 1995–1997

    Made 1995–1997, first shown 1999: 26 episodes of the Kampung Boy animated series, produced with teams in Beverly Hills and the Philippines, in English and Malay, for Nickelodeon Asia and ASTRO.

    Mat, the Kampung Boy, in a hammockA school concertKampung neighbours gather
    Stills from The Kampung Boy animated series (episodes 1, 3 and 2).
  10. 1999

    The Kampung Boy episode Oh, Tok! wins the Best TV Series award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, France.

    Mat and the cast of the Kampung Boy animated series
    Kampung Boy, Special Award for best TV series, Annecy 1999. Image: Annecy International Animation Film Festival archive
  11. 2002

    Receives the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize.

    Lat, Fukuoka Prize laureate portrait, 2002
    Fukuoka Prize laureate, 2002. Photo: Fukuoka Prize
  12. 2014

    Receives the Merdeka Award, presented by Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak.

    Lat receives the Merdeka Award from Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, 2014
    Receiving the Merdeka Award from Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, December 2014. Photo: Shahrul M Zain, NSTP
  13. 2023

    Named Seniman DiRaja (Royal Artist) by Sultan Nazrin Shah.

    Sultan Nazrin Shah confers the title Seniman DiRaja on Lat, Istana Iskandariah, 2023
    Named Seniman DiRaja at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar, November 2023. Photo: L Manimaran, NSTP
  14. 2024

    Receives the Anugerah Seniman Negara, the National Artist Award, at the Anugerah Seni Negara 2024 in Kuala Lumpur.

    Lat with the Anugerah Seniman Negara, 2024
    With the Anugerah Seniman Negara, Kuala Lumpur, November 2024.
  15. 2024

    Sixty years of Lat’s cartoons. On 5 September he meets students and staff at Monash University Malaysia, in conversation with Dr Jalaini Abu Hassan (Jai).

    Lat signs the LAT 60 exhibition poster at Monash University Malaysia
    Signing the exhibition poster at Monash, 5 September 2024.
  16. 2026

    Draws the word MONASH for Monash University Malaysia as six pieces of Malaysia, from a kampung house to the Petronas Twin Towers. The artwork becomes MONASH BY LAT, a T-shirt and polo collection launched on 20 October 2026: a unique collaboration between Lat and the University.

    MONASH, the word drawn by Lat as six pieces of Malaysia

Watch

Lat’s sixty years in a minute.