Lat produced a steady stream of editorial cartoons that entertained Malaysian society. By 1978, two collections of his works ("Lots of Lat" and "Lat's Lot") had been compiled and sold to the public. Although Malaysians knew of Lat through "Scenes of Malaysian Life", it was his next work that propelled him into national consciousness and international recognition. In 1979, Berita Publishing Sendirian Berhad published Lat's "The Kampung Boy", an autobiographical cartoon account of his youth. The book was a commercial hit; according to Lat, the first printing—60,000 to 70,000 copies—sold out within four months of the book's release. Readers of the book were captivated by his "heart-warming" portrayal of Malaysian rural life, rendered with "scribbly black-and-white sketches" and accompanied by "simple but eloquent prose". By 2009, the book has been reprinted 16 times and published in several other countries in various languages, including Portuguese, French, and Japanese. The success of "The Kampung Boy" established Lat as the "most renowned cartoonist in Malaysia."