Datuk Mohammad Nor or Lat is a Malaysian icon!
Of course, someone as iconic as Datuk Lat deserves his own museum to preserve all his great artworks and cartoons.
Photo via Malay Mail
According to Malay Mail, after a seven-year wait, Rumah Lat Dan Galeri at Batu Gajah, Perak will finally open its doors to the public in July. Well, better late than never!
The gallery will give visitors a glimpse into the acclaimed Malaysian cartoonist’s life.
Lat or his real name, Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid said that he was informed by the Perak Museum that “Rumah Lat Dan Galeri” will be opened in July.
“The structure has long been completed and now it is just the arranging of exhibits that’s left.”
He added that the gallery will be curated by PORT, People of Remarkable Talents, Ipoh.
The gallery was initially scheduled for opening last year after seven years of construction but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo via Malay Mail
He told reporters, “As much as I want it to be opened, we need to take into account the safety of the people.”
You can travel back in time, complete with various items from Lat’s childhood as well as furniture, mostly from the pre-World War II era - among the collection are a dressing table, a set of tables and chairs, a framed mirror, a rack for hanging clothes and a cupboard, which Lat used as a storage space for his vinyl records and shirts when he was 19-years-old.
According to The Star, Lat previously quoted describing the project as personal.
“I drew the house from memory for The Kampung Boy. When you are nine, you remember every single detail and I have very fond memories from those times. There was no electricity and no water, but to a kid, it was a big treat to grow up in the kampung,” he told The Star.
Apparently he got the idea to draw The Kampung Boy during his travels in the United States when he realised that not many people know about Malaysia.
The book, which was first published in 1979, tells stories of a boy living in a typical Malaysian village which Lat drew inspiration from his childhood.
There will also be a selection of Lat’s works spanning some four decades back to 1964 at the gallery.
Ahh, how exciting! We can’t wait to visit Rumah Lat once the travel restrictions ease!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
