Ipoh for higher schooling as a significant point in the cartoonist's development; the multi-racial environment helped establish his diverse friendships, which in turn broadened his cultural perspectives. At the age of nine, Lat began to supplement his family's income through his artistic skills by drawing comics and selling them to his friends. Four years later, in 1964, the young cartoonist achieved his first published work: a local movie magazine—Majalah Filem—printed his comic strips, paying him with movie tickets. Lat's first comic book publication, Tiga Sekawan (Three Friends Catch a Thief), was published by Sinaran Brothers that year. The company had accepted Lat's submission, mistaking him for an adult and paying him 25 Malaysian ringgits (RM) for a story about three friends who band together to catch thieves. In 1968, at the age of 17, Lat started penning Keluarga Si Mamat (Mamats Family), a comic strip for Berita Minggu (the Sunday edition of Berita Harian). The series ran in the paper every week for 26 years. Although still a schoolboy, Lat was earning a monthly income of RM100, a large sum in those days, from his cartoons. His education finished two years later at the end of Form 5; his Third Grade in the Senior Cambridge examinations was not enough for him to advance to Form 6. Graduating with an education equivalent to that of high school, Lat started looking for a job and had his sights set on becoming an illustrator. Reporter to cartoonist Moving to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Lat applied for a cartoonist's position at Berita Harian. He was told there was no vacancy, but the paper's editor, Abdul Samad Ismail, offered him the post of a crime reporter. Lat accepted, a decision he explained was borne from necessity rather than choice: "It was a question of survival. I had to earn money to help support the family." At that time, Lat's father had fallen seriously ill and could not work; Lat had to become the breadwinner of his family. Aside from taking the job, he continued contributing cartoons to other publications. Lat was later transferred to Beritas parent publication, New Straits Times. Moving throughout the city to report on crimes gave Lat opportunities to observe and interact with the myriads of lives in the urban landscape, enabling him to gather material for his cartoons and increasing his understanding of the world. Nevertheless, he felt he lacked