KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said he will leave it to DAP if he should be penalised for breaching its policy for party members to only accept titles after they were retired.

According to The Star, Chan said he accepted the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK) that carries the title "Datuk” as he felt obligated to do so out of respect for the Sabah governor.

Chan and Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe both received the titles in conjunction with Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin’s birthday celebration today, with the former saying they had initially considered turning down the titles.

"The names are already under gazette, so we feel that we need to respect the decision and recommendation by the Sabah state government.

"I will now leave it to the party to decide on this issue,” he was quoted as saying.

In 2018, DAP formalised its practice for party leaders to decline titles while still in active politics, after four received state honours carrying the title of Datuk that year.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the party’s central executive committee decided to put the "decades-old” practice into writing after the award recipients claimed ignorance of it.