This is one of my cartoonist Lat favorites! It's hilarious.
I'm dedicating this cartoon to our blogging friends who may want to get hitched after December 29th this year...On no account of this cartoon, ever change your plan to do so!
This picture is from Lat's book, Lots of Lat. Do click the pic to have a better image.
This Lat cartoon is extracted from Berita Publishing Sdn Berhad's Lat was Here and the pics of one of our founding fathers, Father of Independence, a prince, Tunku Abdul Rahman are extracted from the late Tunku's book Viewpoints (Kuala Lumpur: Hinemann Educational Books (Asia Limited, 1978) (Please click to enlarge Lat cartoon and all pics).
The definition of an 'Islamic state' or in the Political Science term 'theocracy' is according to Webster's Dictionary: 1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities. 2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission. 3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.
The only true faltering Islamic State or theocracy is Iran, a country which is descending into chaos with a growing opposition and unrest due to its repressive and ever regressive policies, from dressing to public flogging and execution by stoning (adultery cases-maybe Baginda will fear this) which drive many of its people to despair.
It overthrew its monarch, the late Shah of Iran, and replaced it with Ayatollah Khomeni, a zealous religious leader the French would have regretted ever supporting by letting him live in exile there.
Presently, its dangerous mad desire for developing nuclear weapons will never see the light of day as all peace-loving sensible nations will never allow it.
Please click pic to enlarge!Sometimes, when I read in the papers of certain persons receiving state awards I am puzzled because these individuals whom I may know have been known to carry out some pretty questionable business practices or have been associated with certain dubious elements in society...
If anyone deserves a high award, say the Tan Sri title or even the Tun title, it would be Mohamad Noor Khalid, popularly known by his nom de plume, Lat. I know- I know, he has been awarded a datukship, which he truly deserves for making Malaysians of all races, colors and creeds laugh so much at themselves, including myself, of course. It's just that anytime of the day and each progressive year, you look at his cartoons, it still leaves you in stitches.
I had to make myself laugh and be more cheerful after a slew of unpleasant Malaysian news such as the Lina Joy decision, inter-faith conference cancellation (postponement? The jury's still out on this) and the ongoing (finally!) tragic Altantuya murder case.
Here's more of Lat until Berita Harian takes notice of this humble blog and Lat is silenced with his subtle teasingly cheeky views of many of Malaysia's pot-pourri scenes.
Before that, though, the cartoonist has shown and proven to us, his loyal readers, his non-racist non-prejudicial character through some of his cartoons. Here's one funny one of him in New York.
Now we know how sensitive certain people in Malaysia are towards the Jews but Lat is the only Malay guy I know who would courageously cross the racial divide. He eats in a Jewish eatery! A true hero fears nothing and he honestly admitted his non-prejudicial action in this cartoon strip.
If all Malaysians can think like Lat with his sense of humor, honesty, courage and with no trace of bigotry, our Prime Minister, Pak Lah would have an easier task in achieving his vision of 2056(? I'll have to check this date again which I saw on the net hours ago).
Please click pic to enlarge it!
Okay! Okay! I'm a Lat fan!
I think we need one of our funniest cartoonists, Lat to cheer everyone up after one hell of a hangover following the Federal Court ruling in the Lina Joy case.
Yunno-it keeps playing in my head...Why couldn't it be the best Hollywood-style happy ending many of us Malaysians wished it to be?
Why didn't the poor girl be given her decent human rights in this world and she could marry her true love and they live happily ever after? Any Tom, Dick and Harry could see what the two judges actually did was to condemn her to the mercy of a Syariah Court that is in all likelihood, judging from many reports, of either using the barbaric Communist method of placing her in a forced re-education camp or making her undergo so-called 'counseling' or shall we say coercion by certain so-called religious persons to return to a religion she absolutely wants out ...
Then again, the implications of the court's deplorable decision on a wider scale with regard to our state of secularism are written everywhere ...
As for the rest of us, if only just one judge had the courage to join the dissenting courageous wise judge in making his decision, many of us, including some of our understanding and intelligent liberal Muslim friends, would be celebrating a hell lot.
It could and would have been the best and happiest National Day celebration.
Yes, it basically comes down to love. In our Holy Bible, Saint Paul formerly Saul, a Jew who used to persecute many Jewish Christians wrote these wonderful verses to the Corinthians about Christian love:
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope and patience never fail. Love lasts forever.
Well, in Malaysia, it looks like we also need lots of Lat, besides love, just for the cheering up.
Remember those days in in the early '60s when life was simpler then, and we had so many dreams for the future... Lat, though a Muslim Malay, gave us so much laughter and memories when he came on the Malaysian cartoon scene and his works got published in the '70s. Even the '70s censors (Yes, those despicable kill-joys) were probably laughing so hard over the cartoons that they allowed all the kissing, cheekiness, sexiness, political mocking and embarrassing kampung scenes, etc. to be exposed.
What about those zealous Muslim extremists in those days? I don't think there were too many of these crack-pots like Nik Aziz but if there were any, they were probably sulking like the Pharisees of old, awaiting the opportunity to entrap Christ, and either casting furtive looks now and then at the cartoons or laughing their heads off as well.
NOTE: The cartoon page with the pics is extracted from Lat. "One Christmas Eve." Berita Publishing Sdn. Bhd., 1977: 140.
I think I'll be forgiven for using this copyright extract as I've spent a lot of money purchasing most of Lat's works that were published by Berita Publishing Sdn. Bhd..
