SHAH ALAM: Royal Artist Datuk Mohammad Nor Mohammad Khalid, popularly known as "Lat," captivated the audience by illustrating the esteemed editor Tan Sri A Samad Ismail from memory.
While illustrating, Lat fondly revisited his early years as a rookie cartoonist and journalist working under his former boss, A Samad, affectionately known as "Pak Samad".
Pak Samad was also the one who initially recognised Lat's talent, paving the way for his debut as a cartoonist in Berita Harian.
"My competition back then in Utusan Malaysia was Rejabhad, a popular cartoonist. Being just a schoolboy, I decided to send six blocks of drawings to Berita Harian," he said
After submitting the drawings with a note reading 'To: the Editor of Berita Harian,' Lat received a letter from Pak Samad stating, "We accept. Please send more of your drawings so we can publish them weekly.
Sharing his journey during a keynote speech at the Symposium in Memory of Tan Sri A Samad Ismail, Lat reminisced about the first time he met Pak Samad during a visit to Balai Berita in Jalan Riong, Bangsar, during the school holidays.
During the visit, Pak Samad then had also brought Lat to the office of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka to meet renowned cartoonists.
Lat then worked as a crime journalist directly under Samad after finishing school, touring mortuaries, Immigration Departments, and other locations every night in search of stories.
Lat had expressed his appreciation to Pak Samad for the experience.
"Every time I think of Pak Samad, I smile.
"It is Pak Samad who gave us (journalists) the opportunity to be involved in the world of newspapers," he said.
Evident from his live drawing is Pak Samad's distinct nose and eyebrows which is embedded in Lat's memories to this day.
He said, the face, in his drawing is the same face that Pak Samad put on when he asked Lat to go back to his hometown as he was getting sued by Hospital Kuala Lumpur for a story he wrote on 'Haunted Hospital'.
"Pak samad is a serious person but he likes to joke around especially with his friends and the subeditors.
"Pak Samad has given us a lot of guidance (as an editor)," he said.
The symposium, organised by Universiti Teknologi Mara's (UiTM) Communication and Media Studies Faculty, in collaboration with the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, International Islamic University Malaysia (ISTAC - IIUM), aims to discuss the thoughts and contributions of this national journalism figure in the socio-political context of Malaysia.