Undeserving Datukship

When my father read the newspaper on Saturday, he was less than amused about the Government of Melaka conferring Shah Rukh Khan a Datukship on the occasion of the Tuan Yang Terutama Yang Dipertua Negeri Melaka's birthday.

When I heard from my father about this, I was less than amused.

And apparently, most people in the country are not amused either.

Whatever the reason the state government has for conferring the Datukship (which I feel rather shallow anyway), I believe there are many other Malaysians much more deserving.

If you want to honour an entertainer, why not give a Datukship to Melaka's very own Andre Goh, who coincidentally is only conferred a Darjah Seri Melaka (DSM) which does not carry the title Datuk? I notice most local entertainers are only honoured posthumously.

And what about Datukships to more deserving local heroes who conquered Mount Everest - M. Magendran and N. Mohandas? Are we to say that Shah Rukh Khan, who is not even a Malaysian, is more deserving than these two Malaysians?

The problem with some states is that they don't have a quota for Datukships to be awarded every year, nor do they have a strict rule on the conferment on the supposedly prestiged title. I only know Johor and Selangor as being the two states which are very strict on Datukships. Melaka has always been notorious (though not the only one, mind you) for being far too "lenient" on conferring this title. For only a small state with a small number of population, Melaka probably has the highest Datuk to population ratio, which is ridiculous.

Some people I know even joked that if you want an easy and early Datukship, get it from Melaka. In this day and age, when there are so many Datuks around, the prestige and honour that comes with this title seem to have been diluted. Throw a pebble into a crowd, and the chances that it'll hit a Datuk is high.

Nowadays, it is no big deal if someone is a Datuk. Just ask Shah Rukh Khan, I'm sure he'll just put the Datukship along with his other silverware that he has been honoured with - as paperweight.