The Rise of the Malaysia's Favourite Cartoonist in the 80's.

Part 1

At first I doubted the sincerity of the people he said wanted to put his first literature on screenplay. I was just worried, what if they'd play him out again. He has lost his rights for his own Intellectual Property; his whole lifestory is now being told for the profits of his previous publisher, greedy greedy man. They have gotten another cartoonist to continue the presence of the characters in their comic.

He went into recluse for years because of it, perhaps to look for something that could still belong to him.

"Aku tak mau kau kena tipu lagi Ujang. Cari orang yang kita boleh percaya, suruh dia tengok kan contract. Kau kena tahu terang-terang macamana diaorang nak bayar royalti. Kalau kau boleh saman orang, kau dah dapat royalti kartun engkau dah berapa banyak dah sekarang ni, kau tau tak?"

"Kali ni aku berani mati, ini aje yang aku ada....aku serah aje kat Tuhan. "

He's the only one left, who could illustrate brutal honest lifestory that's so rich in heritage and literature values. People say, cartoonists in our country are injurious for the mind.

"Aku baru ni buat research pasal adat. Sampai kat Padang (Indonesia) aku pegi. Aku cuma nak tau mana datangnya adat macam Pepatih dengan Temenggung ni. Dari pemerintah ke, apa ke, untuk apa. Aku dapat jawapannya."

DATANGNYA ADAT DARIPADA BUDI
SEBAB BILA BERBUDI MENCERMINKAN KITA BERAKHLAK
DARI MANA DATANGNYA AKHLAK KALAU IA BUKAN TUNTUTAN AGAMA
JADI ADAT SEBENARNYA DIKAITKAN DENGAN SISTEM YANG BERSENDIKAN KITAB ALLAH. - Ujang

Orang kan selalu pelik dengan peribahasa, "Biar mati anak, jangan mati adat." Kenapa orang sanggup anak dia mati tapi adat mesti dijunjung. Kat situlah logik dia. Peribahasa tu asalnya dari Negeri Sembilan, so only they knew best.

Adat dan Agama complements each other.

So.... you are trying to say, adat is created as a subtle infusion of Quran teachings in our daily life lah?

A..aaa, yes!

During the years trying to put the pieces back together, he operates from a small corner for painters in Central Market and try to make money out of caricature drawings. Surprisingly there's an improvement, his back issues has been republished and he's free to draw again in the comics.

I just don't want him to fall again.

"Nanti tak lama lagi buku Adat Merentas Zaman siap, full sastera pasal adat oghang Nogoghi."

WOW!