SPARC Series 8 with The Kampung Boy

Or Lat, as he is more fondly known by us. Dato' Lat for those more respectful ones. Yup, he is the speaker for the SPARC talk that happened on 29th May 2012. One of Malaysia's pioneer cartoonist, his works are well-known and well-received over the world.

*enter crazy fan mode
GYAHHHH!!! I was so damn happy that I managed to see Dato' Lat in person!! I mean, I grew up reading his comics and when I think about it, it is also his stories that made me appreciate the simplicity of life. How his comics managed to keep me company for hours still puzzles me!

Anyway, this SPARC session was more like a session where a grandfather was passing down knowledge to the next generation. Maybe because Dato' Lat is just so humble and real. His experiences, while may not be something very out of the world, the truth in it is just there. For example, he shared about how he became interested in drawing and eventually became a cartoonist. His driving force was actually his parents because in their own little way, they actually encouraged him to draw more.

But life lessons were the more interesting part for me. He shared about meeting the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee (I forgotten his full title because to me, just P. Ramlee he will be. The fanciful titles do not do him justice at all) just the year before P. Ramlee passed away and within one story he shared, I learnt two things, be who you are and appreciate people when they were still alive. And this is only one of the many stories he shared!
*crazy fan mode shut down

The last bit but definitely the most looked forward to that happened during SPARC was the giveaway of an Ipad! And not just any Ipad, but THE new Ipad! Of course, it is completed with engraving of logos of relevant parties but still! New Ipad! How sweet could that be!

Just a side note though, another Ipad will be given away if you join the competition currently being held by Students Engagement Centre. Details can be found on their Facebook page. And if it is not on that page, the next one to go to will be EYE Project. Yeah, one of these two. XD

Basically, this session was really a meaningful one as I get to see a childhood idol, learnt life lessons from him and even managed to interact with him! Dato' Lat is really a great person!

PS. I managed to get an autograph from Dato' Lat but it got kidnapped by someone. T.T meaning my drawing is now being held hostage...