Lim Guan Eng said today that the DAP central executive committee will be meeting this week to discuss leaders receiving state awards, pointing out that the practice is not in line with party principles.
The DAP secretary-general's comment follows the recent conferral of state awards and medals – including 'datuk' and 'datuk seri' titles – on several Pakatan Harapan leaders in conjunction with the Malacca governor Mohd Khalil Yaakob’s 80th birthday on Friday.
Malay Mail reported Lim as saying that the practice may give rise to the perception that DAP leaders were merely “gunning for awards".
“It is not meant to be rude, but it is important for party integrity that members are not after positions.
“The main duty now is to save the country and economy," he was reported as saying at a Perak DAP convention in Taiping.
The report also quoted Lim as saying that the late Karpal Singh, the former national DAP chairperson, would have rejected such awards were he alive today.
He added that members should prove themselves first before considering accepting such awards and to "show the rakyat that DAP is different from BN".
He also cited former deputy prime minister, the late Ghafar Baba, who only accepted the title "tun" in 1995 after much prodding from then-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The DAP members who were awarded yesterday were Malacca DAP chairperson Tey Kok Kiew and state legislative assembly deputy speaker Wong Fort Pin.
Other Harapan leaders who received awards included Rural Development Minister Rina Mohd Harun, Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa.
All received the Darjah Gemilang Seri Melaka award, which carries the title of "datuk seri".
Sabah DAP chairperson Stephen Wong, vice-chairperson Frankie Poon and Sri Tanjung assemblyperson Jimmy Wong, meanwhile, were conferred the "datuk" title after receiving the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu.
