'I was awarded datukship in 1991'
Malaysian Mirror, 14 August 2009
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Joshua Peter Tan finally cleared the air over his datukship when he produced documents to prove that he had indeed been awarded a Negri Sembilan datukship in 1991.
robin tan.jpgAt a media conference yesterday, Tan produced the papers, including the list of prominent people in Negri Sembilan who received awards up to the year 2001/2002 which included his name as one of the recipients of the Darjah Dato’ Setia Negeri Sembilan (DSNS) award which bears the title “Datuk”. (Right - Star image)
According to the Star, Tan also said he went to the Negri Sembilan state secretariat yesterday to meet the officer who issued the July 15 letter which stated that he was never bestowed a datukship.
According to him, the secretariat said they had made a technical error.
Blame detractors in Matta
“The letter was made based on the fact that they looked into their files and did not find anything about me in the past seven years. They did not go further to search documents dated 20 years back,” he said.
Tan also showed reporters present, a framed letter issued by the state secretariat dated July 4, 1991 which showed the conferment of his title and a photograph of the inauguration ceremony.
However, he did not put the blame on the state secretariat but lashed out at the group of 16 Matta members whom he felt were out to topple him from his presidency.
Last week, a newspaper queried Tan on his title, which he claimed was from the Negri Sembilan state government and that he had the letter to verify it.
The authenticity of Tan’s position as Matta president was also being questioned after it was alleged that the association’s membership rolls used in the June 27 annual general meeting and elections were tainted with dubious members.
It resulted in a split in Matta’s leadership with Tan maintaining that he was the rightful president until the Registrar of Societies completed its investigations into the matter.
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Honestly I don't see why the royal families in Malaysia bothers to beg for projects from the government when they could make millions selling datuk and Tan Sri titles which is in so high demand. Better than getting APs even. Even at RM500,000 apiece, it will sell like hot cakes. After all, who says that they cannot sell these titles anyway. I say let them turn it into a commercial business. In exchange, they will forgo relying on financial aids from the rakyat. Killing two birds with one single stone, a win-win for all.
Even though these people paid RM250,000 for a "Datukship", soon it will be "a dime a dozen"! If you stay at Brisdale Hotel at Jln Tuanku Abdul Rahman during the UMNO convention, open the window and throw a small stone outside the hotel. You are bound to hear "aduh!" from an UMNO Datuk.
Similarly, if you do the same thing at Corus Hotel (formerly Ming Court)during the MCA General Assembly, you will hear, "aiyahh". . ., that means you have hit an MCA Datuk.
There are too many Datuks running around that you have to address everybody at the Hotel lobby as "Datuk"!
It reminds me that when I was a child in a tiny fishing village in Malacca, I used to throw scraps of bread into the brackish water at the mouth of a river. There are too many "belukang" fish with gaping mouth waiting for the bread scraps. Today's ubiquitous "Datuks" reminds me of the "belukangs"!
You know, sometimes instead of throwing bread scarps, I do throw stones at them too! And yes, the "belukang" do made some sound when the stones hit them!
Idioms:
A dime a dozen, means: Overly abundant; commonplace.(Source:The Free Dictionary by Farlex)
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