A news report in The Star titled “Lat gets doctorate from UKM” today indicated that local cartoonist Datuk Mohamad Nor Khalid, who is better known as Lat is awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Anthropology and Sociology from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

However, the first line in the report stated that “The Kampung Boy is now Dr Lat.”

It has to be pointed out that, only those in the medical profession, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree holders as well as other doctorates where recipients actually work on their degrees via coursework or research are entitled to use the Dr. title in their names. Honorary Doctorates, however, are not entitled to the Dr. title as the award was in honor of their contribution in their profession, not via any coursework or research done.

Lat gets doctorate from UKM

BANGI: The Kampung Boy is now Dr Lat.

Cartoonist Datuk Mohamad Nor Khalid, who is better known as Lat, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Anthropology and Sociology by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) yesterday.

“I’ve never heard of a cartoonist who has been awarded an honorary doctorate before.

“It’s a great honour for me,” said the 56-year-old, who was among 671 graduates at UKM’s 35th convocation here.

Dressed in a suit, robes and sporting a shorter hairdo, Lat shared his motto of “making an effort in whatever profession you choose.”

“Whatever profession we are in, if we contribute to society and the nation, there is always some form of gratitude, whether in this form or others.

“But we don’t really work for these (honorary doctorates),” said the soft-spoken man, who has been “doodling” for the last 40 years, even before he started school.

“You can actually pursue this career of being a professional doodler, there is no doubt about that,” he said. Where does he draw his inspirations from?

“There are things that go on around us. You see many international situations being depicted in cartoons all over the world but for us, it’s better to stick to local subjects in our little place.

“That’s what I would rather do. As for international subjects, you can just surf the Net and there will always be something, but our own thing, we have to do ourselves,” he added.

He gave an example of what he had been doing recently.

“I drew a scene from an old P. Ramlee comedy which everybody from my time loved, Nujum Pak Belalang.

“People today are asking about the general elections, so we have our own nujum,” he laughed.

He also advised young cartoonists and comic artists to “really bring out the Malaysian identity in their work.”

“We have so much international style that we are belittling our own identity, which is special and it is what we have to offer to the international market and audience,” he said.