By Satwant Singh and Lee Soo Hui

CARTOONS bring nostalgic memories to many of us.

We grew up with popular Western based-animated cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Many of us also grew up being entertained by Gila-Gila and Gelihati. And of course, who could forget the evergreen LAT cartoons.

While cartoons may be popular as an entertainment and leisure outlet – especially among the young – a recent cartoon exhibition showed that they can also be used to educate people from all levels of the society.

The International Cartoon Exhibition: Towards Safer Roads at the Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) in December showed how artwork could deliver messages in a creative, clever and constructive way to create road safety awareness among the public.

The exhibition was a collaboration between the Journalism programme under the Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries of TAR UMT, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) and Balai Kartun Rossem (BKR).

Over 70 pieces of artwork were displayed on the walls of the V Gallery of the university with another 100 displayed on a large TV screen.

The artwork on display were from renowned cartoonists worldwide who took part in a competition jointly organised by MIROS and BKR previously.

MIROS @rt director Mohd Yusof Abdul Ghani, a former photojournalist, said the institute was always on the lookout for out-of-the-box ideas on educating the masses on road safety.

“This cartoon competition and later exhibition was one of those efforts towards this cause,” he said, adding that the idea of the competition was mooted during the lockdown period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Not much could be done (then) and I contacted Pak Rossem (popular local cartoonist Rosidi Semail) and sought his help on making the competition a success as he has vast experience and networking with cartoonists all over the world,” said Mohd Yusof.

Pak Rossem, who was one of the judges, said the competition attracted overwhelming entries from all over the world.

“As for the exhibition, this is the second time an exhibition on the cartoons was organised. The first was in Kelantan and now at TAR UMT,” he said.

“I was the first person to see these artwork – they are of such high value and educational. I am amazed with these cartoons…they really touched my heart,” he said.

He said the road safety cartoons touched the nerve of the society and were easily understood.

“When strolling in the exhibition, we can capture the meanings of the cartoons. They may be without dialogue but are effective,” he added.

Another local popular cartoonist Anuar Hassan or popularly known as Sireh, recalled his entry into the competition, which was also on display on the walls of the V Gallery during the exhibition.

“My cartoon was inspired by a real-life incident involving an e-hailing rider during the pandemic where many were already facing tough times, but this was further aggravated by an irresponsible intoxicated driver.

“Lives are lost (on roads), and their families go through challenging and tough times. Cartoonists can help shape people’s mind to be courteous and responsible on the roads,” he said.

Anuar said cartoons and visuals are a medium that was easily receptive to a wide range of audiences whether they are children or adults.

“Everyone can easily understand these visuals that may also contain satire, humour and elements that the audience can digest without any coercion or academic abilities.

“These can help create awareness that road crashes can be avoided by taking the necessary precautions,” he said.

He also thanked TAR UMT for providing the space for the artwork, and MIROS and Pak Rossem for the initiative to organise the competition previously.

For MIROS @rt this this may just be the beginning of more out-of-the-box ideas as it mulls more specific theme-based road safety initiatives in the future.