" 1Malaysia has always been around us"

The phrase " 1 Malaysia" may be have just been coined and became popular only recently,but its spirit has always been around us, for a long time.
 Thats what the NPC - Tan Sri SM Nasimudin 1Malaysian of the Year award recipient, cartoonist Datuk Mohd Nor Khalid- or better known as Lat- thinks of the 1Malaysia concept.
 The NationalPress Club (NPC) bestowed Lat with the prestigious award for his amusing depiction of multi-racial Malaysia in his drawings- which often included characters of various Malaysian ethnicities.
 Lat and his cartoons are well-loved by Malaysian from all walk of life, and it was evident during the Naza-NPC 2010 awards night when he was bombarded with photograph requests from him many fans.
 The 59-year-old Perakian refused to be called as 1Malaysia icon.
 " People used to ask me back then why i would draw a Punjabi man wearing a turban in my cartoons," Lat told The Malay Mail.
" But to me there's nothing strange in that.What i'm drawing is what is actually around us,in our multi-racial society. When i illustrate a crowd of people,of course there's going to be different types of Malaysian characterts in it."
 " It's normal thing for me. I had many school friends who were of different races. This multi-racial spirit which now we call 1Malaysia has always been here, for years," said Lat, who started out his working career as a crime reporter with a Malay daily, Berita Harian.
" I'm just pleased and happy that my cartoons can inspire many Malaysians, which to me, is more important and meaningful."
Madha Linna