Preserving dignity: Wong (third from left) with Awalan (third from right) at a press conference for the forum in Kuala Lumpur. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Stiffer fines and increased police investigative powers are needed to prevent the misuse of honorary titles, says the Council of Datuk Dato’ Malaysia (MDDM).
Its president Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz said the body has submitted a proposal to amend Act 787, also known as the Offences Relating to Awards Act 2017, to the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) and Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
Revealing this during a discussion, “Forum On Act 787 – Preserving the Dignity of Honorary Titles”, held here yesterday, Awalan outlined three aspects of the proposed amendments to Act 787 that govern the use of honorary titles.
The first, he said, was to ensure that the coverage of Act 787 is effective across the country, with the second involving an increase in fines and penalties to deter offenders.
The third is to include a new section to provide clearer authority to the police to conduct investigations and take more effective action, he pointed out.
Awalan said the MDDM committee visited the legal affairs division of the PM’s Department several months ago to raise the issue and push for change.
MDDM secretary-general Datuk Samson David Maman said the misuse of the datukship title was becoming rampant.
“I receive about 20 to 30 complaints almost every day,” he said, adding that there were also three cases with persons impersonating a Tan Sri.
Former MDDM vice-president Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai urged the public to file police reports on these matters to enable investigations.
He wanted the police and AGC to give priority and attention to such cases, serving as a lesson to those who misuse honorary titles.
“The titles are conferred by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and royalty.
“We have to protect these awards to give them meaning,” said Wong who is the Bernama chairman and Star Media Group adviser.
Senior Asst Comm Abd Rahman Atan of the police, who was a panelist at the forum, said there have been 62 cases of fake datukships since 2022, investigated under both the amended Emblems Act 1963 (Act 414) and Act 787.
Of these, he said 49 cases involved the false use of datukships involving improper transactions or scams.
Under Act 787, action can be taken against those using fake or unrecognised titles and awards, or for organising activities and events bestowing such titles.
Malaysian citizens are also not permitted to accept foreign awards unless they have written permission from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. They cannot receive unrecognised foreign awards either.
The former can result in a RM10,000 fine and three years in prison, while the latter can result in a RM500,000 fine and three years in prison.
The law came into effect in 2017 to curb the misuse of awards from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Rulers and Yang di-Pertua Negeri, in order to protect the prestige of the royal awards.
