have invited him to tour their countries, in the hope that he will record his experiences in cartoon form to share with the world. The first country to do so was the United States, followed by others such as Australia, Germany, and Japan. In 1998, Lat became the first cartoonist to be made an Eisenhower Fellow and revisited the United States; his research programme was the study of relationships among the many races in United States society. In 2007, the National University of Malaysia awarded him an honorary Doctorate in Anthropology and Sociology. Lat's works are recognised as visual records of Malaysia's cultural history; he was awarded a Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2002 for preserving Malay rural culture in his works. In 1986, Lat became the first cartoonist to exhibit his work at the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur; the event drew a record number of 600,000 visitors in two months. He is treated as a celebrity, and his cartoon characters decorate stamps, financial guides, and aeroplanes. When Reader's Digest asked Malaysians in 2010 to rank which of 50 local personalities was most worthy of trust, Lat was returned fourth on the list. According to Jaafar, "100% of Malaysians respect and admire Lat, and see a Malaysian truth, whether he is drawing a policeman, teachers, or hookers." List of major honours 1994 – Honorific title of datuk 1998 – Eisenhower Fellowship 2002 – Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize 2005 – Petronas Journalism Awards (Special Jury Award) 2007 – Honorary Doctorate in Anthropology and Sociology 2010 – Civitella Ranieri Visual Arts Fellowship List of selected works This is a partial list of Lat's books (first prints); excluded are translations and commissioned works, such as Latitudes (1986) for Malaysian Airlines and the annual personal financial management guides (since 1999) for Bank Negara Malaysia. Notes and references Notes References Bibliography Interviews/self-introspectives Books Academic sources Journalistic sources Online sites External links 1951 births Living people People from Perak Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian comics artists Malaysian artists Malaysian illustrators Malaysian cartoonists