Why honorific titles should be earned, and earned in a dignified manner

Mustafa K. Anuar Mustafa K. Anuar Updated 7 years ago · Published on 18 Oct 2018 11:00AM · 7 Comments

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Mujahid Yusoff Rawa is among the new Pakatan Harapan leaders who have accepted what many say are undeserved accolades. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, October 18, 2018.

THE debate over honorific titles has taken a predictable turn – thanks to former Federal Territories Umno Youth chief Mohd Razlan Rafii who got his knickers in a twist.

Razlan has contended that DAP leadership’s insistence that their politicians should not accept state honours is tantamount to disloyalty to royalty. 

Nothing could be further than the truth.

THE rationale put forward by the leadership of DAP – and, for that matter, all right-thinking Malaysians – is that politicians and other citizens of repute must have made recognisable and sterling contributions to society before they are awarded a title by the state.

And, it is only reasonable to expect that the ruling politicians should accept state awards for doing more than is expected of them in their respective offices.

To be clear, an honorific title should not be accorded to an individual simply because he or she holds an official position of power or wealth in society. It must be for contributions and achievements over and above the responsibilities that come with that position.

In other words, there must be a real cause to celebrate the individual concerned, and one that ought to earn our collective respect.

The state authorities concerned, on their part, should be judicious about who they bestow their awards upon

Otherwise, we will continue to bear witness to embarrassing incidents that are opposite to our expectations of individuals of such standing.

Such as a datuk being found guilty of a crime. Or a datuk who cuts queue at a highway toll just because he has his title on a plaque above his number plate.

In short, the culture of entitlement gets into the head of those who should not have been awarded in the first place.

To put it another way, En Razlan, this is an attempt at restoring the dignity that’s supposed to accompany the titles that have been degraded by those who wear their honorifics on their sleeve.

Malacca DAP chief Tey Kok Kiew is among the party members who have caught flak for accepting a state award after less than six months as the Housing, Local Government and Environment state exco. – Facebook pic, October 18, 2018.

Worse, those who abuse these titles perpetuate a feudal-like culture where a datuk is to be respected, if not feared, no matter what unsavoury acts he or she might have committed.

The problems associated with honorific titles afflict other areas of Malaysian society as well, and this includes the academia – of all places.

Quite often we notice that a datukship is given to individuals in the top management of a university after a mere year or so in office.

It is here you wonder what substantial contributions they have made other than shouldering the usual responsibilities of their respective office,  and whether they are worthy of the title. 

Unless, of course, the academic being honoured has made major contributions in their fields of expertise, the benefits of which are not only felt by the academic community but also, and especially, the larger society.

Just as a professorship should be earned, so should a datukship.

In an environment where ideas are supposed to be freely debated in the spirit of intellectual robustness, the abuse of titles can throw a spanner in the works.

An anecdote will suffice to illustrate the point. In an academic forum, a datuk – and a professor to boot – was incensed that his views were challenged by mere mortals who were guilty of being interested in exchanging ideas and getting to the truth.

So, as we can see, the award of datukships must not only be transparent, but also requires high standards that are not easily assailable by all and sundry.

Otherwise, some rotten apples will simply spoil the whole barrel. – October 18, 2018.

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Comments

  • Maake all politician not to accept the honorific title be signed with blood on their pledge. PH government should stipulate in their hard concrete by-laws that nomore fresh politician should accept or have titles in their years of office and ban it all the way until they retire. Legalise the term "YB" only for politician serving in the administration. Those already with titles given previously should not be addreseds by their titles when they are in active duty but refer as just "YB" and names. Lets ensure that the politicians acknowledge this wholesome of act of humility in their job designation. Stop all the nonsensical gestures.

    Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • I'm very much agree with dap ideology

    Posted 7 years ago by BALAM KRISHNAN · Reply

  • A Christian friend of mine related an experience in his church. A member of the church has just obtained a datukship was immediately appointed to the church council as a leader. He was neither active nor committed in the first place before he got his datukship. So the decease has not only plagued political arena, but also religious institution.

    Posted 7 years ago by Awang Bilis · Reply

  • Well let's see if any of these 5 ministers will be humble enough to ask that he/she be addressed by just YB or their names. The one who come forward to say it will have my deepest respect..although not as much as if he/she had declined it in the first place...but some respect nevertheless.

    Posted 7 years ago by Lily Cheong · Reply

  • These people should just be addressed as OB (Orang Biasa) So-and-So.

    Posted 7 years ago by Awang Bilis · Reply

  • Scumbag Datuks everywhere

    Posted 7 years ago by Baru Malaysian · Reply

  • Existing Honorific titles should be eliminated. Start with new honorific titles so the datuk and datuk seri don't smell fragrance anymore.

    Posted 7 years ago by William chin · Reply