In 1981, "Town Boy" was published. It continued "The Kampung Boy"s story, telling of the protagonist's teenage life in an urban setting. Two more compilations of Lat's editorial cartoons ("With a Little Bit of Lat" and "Lots More Lat") were published and the number of people who recognised him continued to grow. In 1984, partly from a desire to step away from the limelight, Lat resigned from the "New Straits Times" to become a freelancer, but continued to draw "Scenes of Malaysia Life" for the newspaper. He set up his own company, Kampung Boy Sendirian Berhad (Village Boy private limited), to oversee the merchandising of his cartoon characters and publishing of his books. In 2009, Kampung Boy partnered Sanrio and Hit Entertainment in a project to open an indoor theme park which would later be called as "Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park" in Nusajaya, Johor in August 2012. One of the park's attractions will be the sight of performers dressed up as "Kampung Boy" characters beside those in Hello Kitty and Bob the Builder costumes and also reported in August 2012 will be a Lat-inspired diner called "Lat's Place". It will be designed in a Malaysian village setting, coupled with animations for patrons to interact with.