I vaguely remembered reading his comics when I was young. My dad was an avid reader of the Gila-Gila, the first national humour magazine. It was basically the Malaysian version of Mad Magazine and an incubator of some of the greatest cartoonists in the country. 

Nik Wafdi was someone who worked on a couple of the magazines that spun off. We read those too.

Even back then we knew something went wrong. Something that caused all these talents to scatter to the winds.

Nik Wafdi is a loner, an introvert and a bit of a recluse, like all the other cartoonists. Although he was posting on digital platforms, I contacted him directly with the help of a friend. 

The interview was done via text, late one night. My brain was barely awake, but at the same time I wanted to tell the story and I did not want to let go of the opportunity. He insisted we do it in English. I appreciated it, but it also means it was a bit awkward. 

It took a while before he opened up and got comfortable telling me his story. 

For the printed story he had one request. The anniversary of his wedding was coming up and he’d like to have a picture of him and his wife together in the paper as a way to celebrate.

It took some doing and a lot of smarts on his part, and it worked. He did get his request. And I am happy he did.

If you would like to see his work for yourself, you can find Nik Wafdi is on Instagram.