Sabah rep says he misspoke in remarks over Datuk award
KOTA KINABALU: Barely 24 hours after stating his intention to decline a datukship, DAP assemblyman Tan Lee Fatt (pic) now says he had misspoken about writing to the Chief Minister to turn down Sabah’s second highest honour.
“I wish to clarify that I did not submit a letter to the Chief Minister,” said the Likas assemblyman yesterday.
He had told reporters on Monday that he turned down the “Datuk” title that was conferred on him in conjunction with Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin’s 71st birthday celebration on Oct 5.
He was quoted as saying then that he had written to Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor about the matter.
Tan, who is Sabah DAP assistant secretary, was to be among 87 recipients of the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK) award which carries the title “Datuk”.
In a text message yesterday, Tan however said that he had not written a letter to any officials to decline the PGDK award.
Asked whether that this meant he was going to accept the title, he said: “No comment.”
The DAP has a policy prohibiting elected representatives from accepting honorific titles while in office.
Despite this, several Sabah DAP leaders have received such awards, including the late Datuk Stephen Wong and others like Datuk Jimmy Wong, Datuk Frankie Poon, Datuk Chan Foong Hin and Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe.
In October last year, it was reported that the DAP had reprimanded Chan and Phoong for accepting their titles. However, it is unclear whether any action was taken against the others.
