IN Malaysia, where many a politician is a recipient of royal awards, few may have had their awards taken back but none has willingly surrendered a title.

Other than Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, that is. 

The former prime minister and his wife returned their awards to the Selangor palace last Thursday, following the Selangor sultan’s remarks about Dr Mahathir in a newspaper interview. 

The Malaysian Insight takes a look at several politicians who have had their titles revoked.

* In December 2010, Gua Mustang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was stripped of two Kelantan awards given to him by the Kelantan ruler Sultan Muhammad V Tuanku Faris Petra Sultan Ismail Petra.

The awards were the Darjah Kerabat Yang Amat Di Hormati and Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Kelantan Yang Amat Mulia awards for allegedly making statements detrimental to the state ruler.

* In the same year, Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali also saw his datukship revoked by the Kelantan palace.

No reason was given for the revocation but Ibrahim, who was an independent Pasir Mas MP, had at the time issued statements that were deemed racist.

He was conferred the title in 2003 by then Kelantan ruler Sultan Ismail Petra. He was also conferred datukships from Malacca in 1994 and Selangor in 1999.

* In 2010, former health minister Chua Jui Meng had two datukships revoked by the Johor palace.

Chua, a former MCA vice-president, left the party and joined the opposition PKR a year earlier and was serving as a central committee member when the award was revoked.

The former Bakri MP had also received datukships from Pahang and Selangor in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

* In 2011, former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo was stripped of the “Datuk Seri” title when he was charged with graft. 

But prior to that, Dr Khir’s Datuk Seri title was “suspended” with the condition that it would be reviewed if he was found innocent.

He was subsequently found guilty in December 2011 and sentenced to 12 months’ jail. 

* In 2014, the Selangor palace also stripped jailed politician and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim of the “Datuk Seri” title conferred to him in 1992 because he had “repeatedly questioned the integrity of the sultan in dealing with the Selangor menteri besar crisis, and also questioned other issues pertaining to Islam”.

The menteri besar then had been Khalid Ibrahim who was removed by his then party PKR and replaced with Mohamed Azmin Ali. – December 13, 2017.