Cartoonist Datuk Mohd Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, has been declared Royal Artist or ‘Seniman Diraja’ by Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzudin Shah for highlighting multiculturalism in his caricatures for decades.

Sultan Nazrin stated that through his casual sketches, Lat has managed to capture the harmonic essence of life in a plural society made up of different races, religions, cultures and languages in a country like Malaysia.

Sultan Nazrin stated Lat shared the experiences of the multiethnic members of society such as the joy felt in wedding ceremonies to the exuberance of festive celebrations to being in a school environment or getting caught in a traffic jam, among others.

The Sultan stated that his works carry a clear message whereby people of diverse backgrounds instinctively live in peace and harmony in a spirit of mutual respect causing the major races and religions of Malaysia to refrain from any prejudice.

Many Netizens took to social media to congratulate the 72 year old cartoonist and thanked Sultan Nazrin for bestowing the honour on Lat which they felt was a timely recognition of all the years of hard work and sacrifice by him.

Malaysians on social media paid tribute to Lat and stated that they feel proud and appreciative of his brilliant caricatures which were entertaining and humorous and made them feel good for so many years and wished him well.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE