Saturday, April 21, 2012

Cartoonist Lat n Frankie Rock In Ipoh Kopi Tiam


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Malaysians say jokingly that if you want to know the truth about the country don't read the newspapers; read LAT. 


For those who have not been initiated, LAT is not an acronym but the name of Malaysia's most famous cartoonist, Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid.

I searched my little library at home and found Lat's collection of cartoons. They included,  Kampung Boy, Lat's Lot and Town Boy. It's not the whole collection but it is in the last book that I found what I wanted. 

 Lat's love for 60's music shows in his depiction of the rock and roll hey-day after he left his kampung life and went to Ipoh town.

The cartoons above enact his meeting with a Chinese boy called Frankie who told Lat, "I like pop music also. Do you want to exchange records with me? I have ALL the records! You just say it - I GOT IT! What record you want? Elvis... Cliff Richard... I got all! Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, Pat Boone, Neil Sedaka, the Patters, Connie Francis, Bobby Vee. You have heard a new group called the Beatles? (from: Town Boy - Sixth reprint 1992)"
When Lat told Frankie he had no records for exchange, Frankie took Lat to his home.  They went into a 60s kopi tiam (coffee shop) called Kedai Kopi Ah Hong.  
But as we are taken illustratively beyond the won-ton mee stall and the kopi drinkers, through dark, winding staircases and long wooden corridors, the reader finally finds himself in a large family room where his friend shows Lat his father's collection of a treasured radiogram with the latest 60s vinyl records of Bill Haley, Ricky Nelson and other pop hits (images 1 and 2). 

To Lat it was the thrill of a lifetime as the final double-page image 3 shows them screaming and yelling  to the roof tops to the surprise of Frankie's grandmother and sister.

Have you read Lat's cartoons. You're missing plenty if you haven't.

Quotation and Images from: Town Boy By Mohd. Nor Khalid, Berita Publishing Sdn. Bhd. A Member of The New Straits Times Group, 22, Jalan Liku, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sixth reprint 1992. Printed by Percetakan Cergas Sdn. Bhd. 58100 Kuala Lumpur.

Original article/images: Andy Lim Collection.

22 comments:

Robert Suriya: said...

Hi Andy,

it was great meeting with you-and Jerry in Singapore- and not forgetting the great food- We will do it again some tome.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Yes, we will definitely meet again. Thanks for the Facebook comment.

Waye: said...

VAMPIRES POSTING:

Hi everyone,
This is a lovely blog, and I have to say I like both variations of the song, quite different moods I have to say.

Do any of you have the English translation to it. My Mandarin is not very good, and would really appreciate it if you could help understand better the meaning of the words.
Thanks lots
Waye

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Hi Waye,
Thanks very much for visiting. Your request will entail a process which might take time.

I will try to do what I can as many of my friends do not have a turntable to play the vinyl record after which the Chinese lyrics will have to be translated into English.

Allan Thompson: said...

Fairport Convention is a long-running British band which started life in London in the mid-1960s and developed into the major electric-folk band by the late 1960s.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thank Allan,

Readers will hear more about this famous band soon with Allan Thompson's interesting connection to ace British guitarist and electric folk musician Richard Thompson.

LAT'S WEBSITE said...

LAT (Mohamed Nor Khalid) is one of the most-read cartoonists in Southeast Asia, and with the continued, widespread reprinting and translating of his cartoons, he is gaining worldwide fame.

His annual compilations of his strips into books have been extremely successful with one, Kampung Boy, selling more than 100,000 copies. The first print of 60,000 over copies sold out within four months and it had to be reprinted. For a country like Malaysia, that response is a big amount. His comics have a very wide range for an audience including children, intellectuals, and politicians who are fans

Erwin Bovian said...

Nice pair of glassess Andy Young!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Erwin Bovian. Are you also Erwin Maisch?

I am a little confused here because Erwin Maisch has so many names. And since 'Erwin' is such a beautiful and unique name, I have to make sure.

Thank you for the reference to my glasses. Yes I am wearing the same pair.

Anonymous said...

I used to have a 45RPM record [acetate] called "Dig That Crazy Beatnik Chick" that I never found a copy of ever again. The songwriters were London & Clarke. Who knows?

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Wow this is an interesting request. Anyone heard of this song?

Please write in if you have or own a copy.

Dr Tan Wee Kiat said...

Hi! Andy,

Enjoyed your blog posting.

Also, browsed the posting about Lat's introduction to music on records.

Regards,

wee kiat

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

LAT was in town yesterday on 10th December 2016 signing away his latest book at one big bookshop in town in Singapore.

Apparently 70 fans were there to get his autograph. Now that's neat. Congratulations LAT. You deserve the recognition.

I'm just wondering when we will be allowed to laugh at ourselves. I don't see the funnies funny in our daily newspaper (there's only one).

And world recognition? Well, LAT got his. His cartoon books are translated into many languages.

FACEBOOK said...

Roop Singh
Eunice Chua
Koh Sui Pang
Freda Hanum
Charlie Yap Locomotion
Jalani Mohamed
Yen Chow
Michael Lee
Yip Dick
Chow Wen Hing
Moody Cash
Gracie Teo
THANKS FOR THE THUMBS UP

FREDA HANUM TEEPEES said...

Loved his cartoons, never fail to see it each time I turn the pages of the newspaper those days, he is so gifted indeed

JOSEPH LOW said...

The kampong cartoonist loved by many and the only one to get away making fun of Malaysian politicians - don't see his cartoons now.

FACEBOOK CHATS [40+ CHATS WITH ANDY] said...

Don Soh
Really able to draw out the funny side of every day life in Malaysia. I have practically all the collection of his cartoon series.

Andy Young
Author
Don Soh thanks, great to know. I wish I had them all.

John Lynn
His nickname Lat from the word bulat or round

Andy Young
Author
John Lynn, yes. thanks for the reaction...

Fahmy Ismail
John Lynn his real name is Muhammad Noor Bin Abdul Khalid.

John Lynn
Fahmy Ismail
Yes I’m a big Lat fan so know a bit about the datuk

John Lynn
Fahmy Ismail
He definitely has a round buLAT face

Andy Young
Author
Thanks to all who LIKE this post. Lat is one of the best cartoonists there is, this side of the Pacific.

Andy Young
Author
Rockin' and rollin' with Lat and Frankie.

Sudhir Menon
He’s brilliant! He manages to capture the essence of Malaysian (and to an extent, Singaporean) life in a way that no one else does. I include Singaporean because of our shared history.

Andy Young
Author
Sudhir Menon hi, thanks for the brilliant comment. Totally agree. Please visit anytime.

Irene Hoe Ai Lee
Loved LAT and was privileged to have met and interacted with him.

April Wong
I love LAT! Used to read his comic all the time after school!

Norzela Shariff
He is the best !

Fahmy Ismail
I would always present my friends from overseas with copies of his books to introduce our culture to them.

Andy Young
Author
Fahmy Ismail that's a good thing to do. He's funny.

Fahmy Ismail
Andy Young I’ve given copies of his books to my friends in the UK, Germany, France, Egypt, Turkey, Australia & New Zealand. They all love it.

Andy Young
Author
Fahmy Ismail, good of you. Spreading culture in a friendly way.

Fahmy Ismail
Andy Young not only in a friendly way, but a fun way as well. ��

Huang Eu Chai
Fahmy Ismail that's what I did as well! How I wish they continued printing them.

Fahmy Ismail
Huang Eu Chai unfortunately I heard that he won’t be releasing anymore as he has retired. I’m not too sure how far this is true though.

Huang Eu Chai
Fahmy Ismail well, he is getting old so he rightfully earned his retirement, but all of his older publications should ALWAYS remain in print. They are masterpieces of cultural observation and should remain available forever.

Andy Young
Author
Huang Eu Chai, rightly so. He should be honoured time and again for his vision and perception, and in such a humorous way. Thanks for your thoughts.

FACEBOOK CHATS [CONTINUED FROM ABOVE] said...

Samsudin Rahmat
Lat, very talented...I like!

Andy Young
Author
Samsudin Rahmat Yes, he is.

Bobby Ziggy Raj
I have the full collection.

Andy Young
Author
Bobby Ziggy Raj, great!!!

Kimjoo Ng
I still have about 13 of his books purchased in KL when I was seconded there in 1992/3.

Andy Young
Author
Kimjoo Ng Wow! Wish I could borrow them...��

Shu Ennis
LAT comics were what I insisted on bringing with me to stave off homesickness when I left Singapore for Canada.

Andy Young
Author
Shu Ennis, that's a clever idea indeed. Taking along your heritage, which is what Lat is all about... Thanks for your thoughts.

Ukhti Aminah
Dato lat
M Nor Khalid. mai sini peminat ramai ni..hehe

Andy Young
Author
Ukhti Aminah, betul. Peminat antara bangsa. That's what he did, jell people and make us laugh at ourselves. Terima kaseh.

Ukhti Aminah
Andy Young hi Mr Andy, loved to read your articles at your blog's ..keep up the good work ��

Andy Young
Author
Ukhti Aminah thanks. Appreciate it.

Huang Eu Chai
My absolute favorite cartoonist! Only he can capture the spirit of Malaysia (and Singapore) of the 1950s to 1980s so beautifully.

Yew Hock Yeo
Thanks Lat for the great memories and the laughter.

Andy Young
Author
THANKS TO 'NOSTALGIC SINGAPORE' ADMIN AND ALL THE FOLKS WHO REACTED TO THIS POST. LAT IS DEFINITELY A LEGEND. CHEERS.

John Lynn
It is said Lat moved back to Ipoh for a more sedate lifestyle in semi-retirement.

Neo Yueteng
LAT is a great cartoonist. Kampung Boy and Town Boy are fantastic reads

Leng Neo
Lat。 Loves his cartoon since young

Kim Lee
I love lat. Like it so much that they open s lat restaurant in jb, I went....pity it did not last long

FACEBOOK CHATS said...


Andy Young
Author
Again many thanks to NOSTALGIC SG and members for liking and commenting on this LAT post. It's nice that a legend like him be feted in remembrance when still around... Cheers.

Jack Ppj
Thank you for sharing this!

Andy Young
Author
Jack Ppj THANKS to you too.

FACEBOOK CHATS said...

THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING WHO LIKE, LOVE & APPRECIATE LAT'S HUMOUR.
UP TO 200 FACEBOOK FOLKS:

John Cher
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FACEBOOK CHATS said...

JACK PPJ
Thank you for sharing this!

Andy Young
Author
Jack Ppj THANKS to you too for support.

Jack Ppj
Andy Young I remember he has got a friend name Frankie in his good old kampung days. Such sweet memories.

Andy Young
Author
Jack Ppj yes, he's featured dancing with Lat on the blog post. Thanks for the reminder.

FACEBOOK CHATS said...

John Cher
Michael Fonseca
Freda Hanum
Jalani Mohamed
Kali Dass S
Frankie Koh
Patrick Teng
Jimmy Appudurai-chua
AudMon Flotat
Colin Colin
Karen Law Krygsman
Rebecca Wong
Allan Wee
Margaret Jones
Jack Ppj
Musalma Binti Mohd Yusoff
Mihon Mee
Mariani Choi
Sng Teck Guan
Barry Mark
Gopinathan Menon
Sunny Wee
Salmah Dollah
Marvin Tam
Andy Yeo
Tjan Kwang Wei
David Wood
Ahkim Chee
Julie Anne
Galen Yeo
Jaafar Yaacob
Lily Cashin
Terence Kessler
Keeyan Ho
Tai Hui
Yurni Irwati Mohamed Said
Shaun Suresh
Vernon Seow
Rahidah Angin
TK Chow
Ewan Odinson
Ma-hani Mahmud
Satria Ratim
Balji Poravankara
Ricky Chen
Kim Lee
Susan Amy
BingBing Wang
Myki Chan
Jensrani Thangavel
Adrian Tan
Gp Yee
Greg Pan
Juniper Chew
Leng Neo
Opung Mboyan
Steven Kee
Tommy Koh
Tim Tan
Dennis Cheong
Neo Yueteng
Mohamed Salleh
Shamsul Bahrin
Schenker Shaman
Isa Gan
Stewie CP DS
Rachel E Williams
Alex Choo
Wahidwahid Wait
Suppiah Sundram
Yew Hock Yeo
Peter Chuah
ChianChai 'CC' Chia
Jared Fong
Kevin Guo
Huang Eu Chai
Aidle Mohamed Ibrahim
Sim Ee Waun
David Seet
Mark Lewis Tan
Sharon Yeo
Peter Jason Lai
Teresa Ng
Joseph Tang
Lyndon Desker
Ng Kheng-Siang
Vasuda Rani Sawant
Geraldine Foong
Brendon Quan
Fahimah Yaacob
Alan Ho
Lee Johnny
Alan Watkins-Groves
Terence Chan
Tanuja Jacqueline John - Ajith
Margaret Lee
KC Chan
Eugene Douglas Gomez
Yon Meng Leow
Sonya Chahal
Hercules Lim
Muthu Krishnan
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Shahril Undosdelta
Peng Kiat Ong Opk
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Harun Aminurasyid AbdulRahman
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Bobby Ziggy Raj
Mohamed Meeranudeen
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Charles Jtl
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Mervin Quah
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Cartoonist Miel
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Bharathi Mohan
Zubaidah Safuan
Irene Hoe Ai Lee
Alan Ng
Kevin Ong
Ng Foo Weng
Rejaluddin Abdul Rahman
Elizabeth Cornelius Boyd
Omar Jaffar
Rey Lee
Peter Austen
Sudhir Menon
Ian Muckersie
Dean Aziz
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Lorna Khoo
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Zikiry Mohd Sidik
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John Lynn
Muhammad Jellanie
Sazali Surati
Dilip Padbidri
Isaacally Isaacally
Angie Guna
Jimalifnur Mohamed
Joseph Chan
David Neo
Ody Hill
Fahmy Ismail
Rajesh William
Don Soh
Juan Ramirez
Kelvin Lee
Siri Pong

THIS LIST IS A REPEAT BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY MORE ADDED TO THE PREVIOUS LIST ABOVE.
THANKS TO READERS WHO LOVE THIS POST AND OF COURSE, LOVE LAT.