CY@CY Says Welcome to my dreamscape. Where a Lim is also a Ling.
Malaysians crave for titles. There is little doubt about that. Just look at the number of awards dished out every year, from federal titles to state titles. But this number does not meet the demand which must be in the thousands.
In Malaysia, Datuk is a Malay term for an honorific title that is bestowed upon individuals who are deemed to have served the community and the nation well and also on people who have excelled in their areas of expertise and professionalism. It is a title that many a Malaysian craves for day and night, often way before he or she is actually ‘due’ for such official recognition or conferment. Apart from the glamour and social status that the title supposedly carries, it also opens doors to business opportunities and other pecuniary benefits.
In Malaysia, Datuk can be a federal title that is conferred to recipients of the Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) and Panglima Setia Diraja (PSD) awards. Initiated in 1965, the two awards are limited up to 200 living Malaysians each at any one time. The numerical limits apply only to Malaysian subjects and do not include foreigners who may receive the award in a supernumerary and honorary capacity and use the title locally. The wife of a federal Datuk is a Datin, while a female conferred the title in her own right is formally known as "Datin Paduka". However, the prefix "Datuk" is now more commonly used for both men and women.
The title of 'Datuk' may also be conferred by Sarawak, Sabah, Malacca and Penang that have a head of state nominated by the respective Dewan Undangan Negeri/state's Legislature. This is different from the title, "Dato'", which is awarded by individual states headed by a Sultan. Individual sultans (and their staff) determine the award of these state titles.
The apparently easy dishing out of datukships to all and sundry has raised concern. State datukships have, by and large, lost much of its prestige due to a common perception among the public that many individuals are buying their way into ‘datukship’ through agents because of the apparently high stakes attached to this title.
Sabah used to be the butt of jokes, with the Sabah State Assembly in 2001 being told of the joke going around in the peninsula that “if you throw a stone into a crowd in Sabah, not only will it hit a datuk but it will ricochet off him and hit another datuk”.
The capping of Datukships to be awarded is thus an important first step to restore public confidence in the credibility and legitimacy of state honours and titles.
In economic terms, the demand for titles far outstrips the supply, which is why status-conscious Malaysians are willing to pay a small fortune to get such titles.
Honours-hungry Malaysians have been duped into paying anywhere between RM100,000 to RM300,000 for the fake “Datu” titles purportedly conferred by the sultan of Sulu.
If the Datu title from the Sultan of Sulu is beyond your means, you may want to consider a PhD from Rochville University which will set you back by about RM2,000 only. It is a lot cheaper than doing a real PhD or a Datu title from Sultan of Sulu.
And then there are also those honorary PhD degrees. Honorary degree recipients should not refer to themselves as "doctor", nor should they use the title on business cards or in correspondence. I know of a very wealthy Chinese businessman in a neighbouring country with an honorary PhD conferred by the University of New Castle in USA. I remember meeting him one day many years ago a couple of months after he got his honorary PhD and as usual, I addressed him by his surname (Mr Surname). I immediately saw his face darkened with displeasure. I know almost everybody was addressing as Dr Surname as they wanted to curry favour with him. I checked out University of New Castle USA and it is a non-accredited university meaning that its degrees are not valid, and may not be used for academic or employment purposes, or acknowledged as a credential in any public forum or publication, including on a website or in communication related to professional practice or participation in professional organizations.
When I see someone using a fake degree or award, the first thing that comes to my mind is that you cannot get any lower than this. The yearning for recognition and the vanity of such yearning is stunning. This really tells you something about the character of this person.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs probably explains why Malaysians crave for titles. Once your physiological, safety and love/belonging needs have been met, you begin craving for your esteem and self-actualisation needs. Getting a title attached to your name probably goes a long way towards meeting your esteem needs.
By the way, I came across an interesting article written by Fahri Azzat entitled Belakang Punya Dato' about the awarding of titles in Malaysia. Go to this link to read the article: Belakang Punya Dato'.