Our dime-a-dozen Datuks

Thursday December 4, 2008
Our dime-a-dozen Datuks
ALONG THE WATCHTOWER WITH M.VEERA PANDIYAN

The continuous dishing out of titles and awards without basic selection criteria makes a mockery of those who really deserve such honours.
WHAT a relief! There will be no politicians from Selangor joining the ranks of our dime-a-dozen Datuks this year.
Plaudits to the Sultan of Selangor for the unprecedented move in withholding the awards from current and past elected representatives from the state.
His Royal Highness stressed that titles should not be freely given as this would devalue their prestige and purpose.
Since assuming the throne, Sultan Shara­fuddin Idris Shah had only been conferring Datukships on 30 persons each year on his birthday, 10 less than the original limit of 40.
Four years ago, he even revoked the awards given to several people who misbehaved or were charged in court with criminal offences.
Johor and Perak, too, have been exceptionally prudent in the bestowing of such titles. But how about the other states?
Of course, no one can question the Rulers and Yang diPertua Negris of these states in the exercise of their rights and privileges to confer awards and titles, but shouldn’t there be more stringent standards for qualification?
Can they blame Malaysians for making Datuks a brunt of jokes, with up to 70 to 100 such titles given out by some of these states yearly?
Honour is hollow if handed out to all and sundry. To continue to distribute Datukships the way it is being done now makes a mockery of those who really deserve the titles.
As such, it is only proper that the Federal Government and the states formulate a uniform basic criteria for all titles and awards.
The awards were highly respected when first introduced because they were stringently conferred only on those who had made significant contributions to the country or to the state they were born, or lived, in.
Not every politician or senior civil servant was assured of a Datukship or Tan Sriship. Today, almost every MB or CM, state Exco member or party division chief is a Datuk along with most ministers and their minions.
The rewards have also become customary for high-level civil servants and top ranking officers of the police and armed forces.
In the private sector, almost every tycoon and every other successful corporate figure, even those as young as 26, carry Datuks before their names.
And many of them continue to collect similar titles from one state to another, as if one award isn’t enough to fill inflated egos.
No one knows the benchmarks for selection, although one sure way is to be the first local to do something spectacular, even if the feat is fully funded and supported by the Government using taxpayers’ money.
So we now have our first “spaceman Datuk” and the “first solo sailor around the world Datuk” and also the first “swim the English Channel Datuk”. On the last example, never mind the fact that a 50-year-old grandmother, Betty Cohn, crossed it too – 57 years ago, in 1951.
The awards are also meaningless when handed out to outstanding sports personalities who are still in their 20s. These young people can be given monetary rewards and other honours, and considered for Datukship only when they are older.
It would be more significant if parents or mentors responsible for their successes are honoured instead, like for example, Nicol David’s father Desmond David, who has done so much to mould our squash queen.
It’s also reasonable to reward our singers and actors who are truly deserving. But similarly, their age and contributions in terms of public service should be among the key factors to be considered.
Titles diminish in whatever value they hold if dished out freely to those in their 20s or 30s, no matter how popular these celebrities are.
As for foreign artistes, let’s be sincere in our motives.
Malacca’s decision to award Hindi heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan a Datukship, for instance, appears to be designed to score points with his die-hard fans here, among whom are some very prominent datins.
To say that it is to repay him for his contributions to the state’s tourism is akin to stretching it to levels of the fantasy depicted in some Bollywood movies.
So, can we also expect Rajnikant, Chow Yun Fatt, Jacky Chan, Catherine Zeta Jones, Richie Ren and Sammy Cheng – all of whom were in scenes of movies shot in Malaysia – to be made Datuks soon?
Shah Rukh Khan was too busy to attend the original investiture ceremony in conjunction with Yang diPertua Negri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob’s birthday on Oct 11, when 76 others received their Datukship medals.
The state bent backwards and rescheduled another ceremony for him on Nov 29 but again, he could not make it.
It has finally been confirmed that he will receive it on Saturday.
Alas, he won’t be able to stay long enough to be feted by the state or meet his legions of fans. He has to fly back to Mumbai for a movie launch the next day.
Malacca CM Datuk Seri Ali Rustam said Shah Rukh Khan was honoured for shooting scenes of his movie One 2 Ka 4 at the A Famosa Resort in Alor Gajah several years ago.
Most Malaccans doubt that millions who had watched the movie were motivated to visit the state just because of the song sequences.
But a huge number of local fans can be expected to turn up to catch a glimpse of the star on Saturday, worsening the usually chaotic weekend congestion in Air Keroh.
· Associate editor M. Veera Pandiyan likes to share these words of Greek philosopher Aristotle: Dignity consists not in possessing honours but in the consciousness that we deserve them.