KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor defended the award of datukship to Jackie Chan today by saying the popular Hong Kong actor has a large fan following here.
The Federal Territories minister also claimed that Chan can help to promote Malaysia, especially its capital, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.
“Jacky Chan pelakon yg banyak peminat di Malaysia dan boleh promosi Malaysia khususnya Kuala Lumpur dan memang layak,” Tengku Adnan posted on his Twitter account @TengkuAdnanReal.
[Translation: Jacky [sic] Chan is an actor with many fans in Malaysia and can promote Malaysia especially Kuala Lumpur and is deserving.]
Seventy-one individuals received the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah (PMW) award which carries the title ‘Datuk’ for the 2015 Federal Territory Day today, including Chan.
However, many Internet users were amused with his award, especially as Chan attended the ceremony wearing songkok, a Malay headgear.
Some also expressed their frustration that the title was awarded to a foreigner, rather than a local.
“For a Malaysian, we know it’s a great honour to be bestowed (not bought) a datukship. It would mean a lot again if these datukships were conferred on Malaysians who actually made the country proud for their contributions to the country.
“Give a datukship to people who risked their lives for others during the banjir la.... Make these datukships mean something again! Just my two cents,” popular Malaysian actor and director Afdlin Shauki posted on his public Facebook page.
In 2008, the state of Malacca had also conferred a Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) award which carries the title “Datuk” to popular Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
Chan is a popular Hong Kong action movie star who successfully made the transition to Hollywood.
