At one glittering society event, there were so many datuks, that one person likened them to toads who come out of their dark, slimy holes to make a lot of noise.
Others claim that at the present rate of creation of datuks, the person without any title will soon be most sought after and highly prized.
People know that the person without a title, does not have any airs, has no pretentions, and knows that his reputation is intact. One person said, “When introduced to a datuk, I always wonder how much he paid for his title.”
Purchase of Datuk award is old issue
A few weeks ago, the Sultan of Perak, Nazrin Shah, demanded immediate action against the people operating the scam involving the purchase of the datuk award. He warned that the conmen’s activities would lead to a rise in people being duped into purchasing fake titles, which were not recognised by the state.
Some people have asked why this was suddenly made a critical issue, because the problem of the buying of awards has been known for many decades.
One social observer said, “If the authorities are worried that people had to pay for the award, then why did they not tackle the negative public perception much earlier? Or are they worried that certain people, and not the coffers of the state government, that are benefiting from the scam? They only have their lack of enforcement to blame.
“It is like the RM100 million corruption scandal in the Youth Ministry. The corrupt official had been milking the ministry for six years. The perpetrators were said to have taken advantage of a loophole in the system. The internal audits should have highlighted the weaknesses in the system. Their poor work practices are at fault. ”
Another person said, “How do I know a person’s datukship is genuine and not a fake? Why not have one website which lists the datuks from all the states? What is their contribution to society?”
One person said that the reason for bestowing the datuk should be listed, because he alleged, “Some awards are suspect. I know one pilot who insisted he flew the Sultan and his entourage to London and ensured the Sultan received special treatment.
“He eventually received his datukship, which he used to invite investors into his business scheme. He no longer cared if he flew royalty. He had achieved his objective. ”
Money cannot buy class, nor manners
If datuks are scorned, then it must be difficult being a tai-tai, or a datin.
Few qualifications are needed to become a tai-tai, but the most important requisite is a husband who is extremely wealthy. These “ladies who lunch”, are serious shopaholics, some of whom spend their time playing mahjong. They have children who, they claim are the most talented at their international school, and their definition of a difficult decision is the choice of outfit for a charity ball.
One person, who lived beside a tai-tai said, “Money simply cannot buy class.”
One day, at a celebrity event, an expatriate said, “‘Datin’ seems to be a popular girl’s name in Malaysia. Tonight, I met over 50 ‘datins’. I did not know that both Malay Muslims and Chinese share common girls’ names. Such racial harmony!”
One person at the event whispered, “Never mind forgetting their real names. Some of these tai-tais are third wives and concubines. As far as I know, only first wives are really allowed to use the titleâ€.
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