By Colly Wong @ DatukDato.com
Malaysia is a country that is known for its system of qualifications granting, decorations, and orders to Malaysian citizens in honour of their meritorious service to the country. These prominent individuals, including qualified foreigners living in Malaysia, are those who have contributed greatly both in the community they live in and serve, and nationally, to benefit the entire country.
The awards that these notable people receive come from the “fount of honour,” who is the only person in his position to hold the exclusive right to confer legitimate nobility titles and orders of chivalry to eligible individuals. In Malaysia, this person is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He is the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler, and the King of Malaysia. He is also the constitutional monarch and the head of state for the country.
As Malaysian Law mandates and have since been updated last 2021, the celebration of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday is set on a particular date, being the first Monday of June. It’s a day when the entire country holds endless activities throughout the nation, particularly in Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur and all the festivities last for a whole week, with 2 weekends covered. This event is quite important because this is when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong grants the decorations, titles, medals, and state orders to eligible individuals.
Two of these federal awards are the Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) and the Panglima Setia Diraja (PSD). The Panglima Jasa Negara is also known as the Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service. A person will be granted such an award by rendering exceptional and distinguished service to the nation across various fields. The PJN recipient will have demonstrated outstanding commitment and dedication in sports, arts, science, education, community work, public service, amongst others. This rank is limited to 675 living recipients, including eligible foreigners.
The Panglima Setia Diraja (PSD) is another honorific title in the Malaysian honours system. It stands for the Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia. It is awarded to individuals who have shown unparalleled loyalty and service to the monarchy of Malaysia and the entire nation. This rank is limited to 200 living recipients at any point in time, not including the foreign citizens who have also been conferred the same honorary awards.
These two honorifics comprise the membership to The Council of Federal Datuks in Malaysia also known as the Majlis Datuk Persekutuan Malaysia, MDPM. Both awardees receive the title “Datuk” while their wives carry the title, “Datin.” This council was established last May 29, 2002, supported by the office of the first President, Professor Datuk Dr Hj Mohamed Mydin Bin Mohd Musa with his committee. After him, came the second President Tan Sri Datuk Danny Ooi who was incumbent from 2011 to 2019 and the third President Datuk Awalan Abdul Aziz in the years 2019 to 2023. The fourth and current President is Datuk Iskandar Abd Malik who is set to serve from 2023 to 2025.
MDPM was also established during the time when there has been a proliferation of unregistered societies, claiming to represent counterfeit and unrecognised Datuk’s and Dato’s. This situation is a violation of the Malaysian Law passed by the Parliament and gazetted in 2017 under Act 787. There were people scammed and victimised by these fake title holders and these incidents brought shame to the genuine and legal Datuk’s and Dato’s in the country.
This issue brought about the need to create legitimate associations and councils representing the real and legally recognised recipients of these honorary titles and to put a stop to the circulating violations to the honours system in the country. As such, membership to these newly established councils is set to be strictly guarded and the vetting process rigidly put together to ensure that only those who are truly serving Malaysia with their devotion and loyalty will get in.
For MDPM, membership application must be nominated by two existing members to the council and will then be submitted to the Secretary and ultimately turned over to the Executive Committee who is the one responsible to deliberate before the final decision is sent out. The final approval, if the applicant will be granted membership or not, will come from the Executive Committee and whichever way it goes, a reason will be provided for the candidate.
The mission of Majlis Datuk Persekutuan Malaysia (MDPM) is to promote and foster goodwill and fellowship amongst its members and to establish a good working relationship with the government and the various official State Datuk Associations of Malaysia. MDPM also advocates the concept of a Caring Society to extend help to the less fortunate and needy peoples of Malaysia through its many charitable campaigns.
As for their programmes, their objective is to offer ways and methodologies that unlock new skills and knowledge for their participants. They have existing trainings for top management, Environmental, Social and Governance leadership and Change Management, Sustainable Partnership and Supply Chain Performance, Green Pest Control for Farms and Manufacturing, and Diversity and Community, amongst others.
Their courses ensure that you have skill retention and that you can effectively use the knowledge you have gained in your own professional journey. They teach you to think innovatively, helping you go beyond what they train you for, and inspire new and imaginative ways to work with challenges and approach them with creativity. They provide you with technical know-how, practical skills, and character development to empower and help you thrive in your role.
The MDPM programmes boast of their methodology. Their unique process of helping students gain long-term skill retention is their core competency, followed closely by imaginative thinking, and developing character traits that are essential to grow your business and achieve success. They have subject matter experts that provide the intellectual backbone to all their courses.
Truly, MDPM did more than just address the issue of a tarnished reputation for Datuk’s and Dato’s in the country, brought about by some unfortunate situations in the past years. They clearly were able to establish a society that upholds the status of the worthy and exemplary individuals comprising it, and also work towards their goal to engage continually in philanthropic and charitable programs that benefit the entire nation.
If you are eligible to apply as a member of this prestigious organization, or know of anyone who is a likely candidate, please feel free to endorse by visiting the website of MDPM (www.mdpm.org.my), browse through the wealth of information provided, and fill out an application.
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