IPOH, April 16 ― After a gap of over three decades, Malaysian cartoonist Datuk Mohammad Nor Mohammad Khalid, fondly known as Lat, will be publishing a second book for Mat Som.

First published in 1989, Lat said he hoped to have the comic published in July in conjunction with the opening of the Rumah Lat Dan Galeri in Batu Gajah.

"I am in the process of drawing the 150-page book. It will be in Bahasa Melayu,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after launching Galeri Cikgu Ramli at Hala Klebang Restu recently, Lat said he had been telling people that the comic was near completion all this while.

"Looking back at when I first started drawing it, I am ashamed of myself,” he chuckled.

He said the thought of drawing something would arise whenever he was at home.

"But when I am at home, the lazybones will act up and I will forget about drawing,” said the 70-year-old.

Mat Som, said Lat, focuses on the younger generation who have just completed their education and were in the midst of looking for their purpose in life.

Besides trying to adapt to society in the city, the book also records Lat's life.

The first book was adapted into a film titled Mat Som, starring Imuda, in 1990.