The Tan Sri story

The ex-PAS Menteri Besar of Kedah, Azizan Abdul Razak, was also given the Tan Sri award on 1st June. I suppose now the Umno supporters are going to vilify and disparage him and call him a bitch, prostitute and whatnot. And if they do not then why the hell not? After all, Azizan is on the opposite side of the political fence and hence an enemy of Umno. So it is only right that they vilify and disparage Azizan and call him a bitch, prostitute and so on even though this would be seen as an insult to His Majesty the Agong.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Three overseas Malaysian-Chinese -- Michelle Yeoh, Jimmy Choo and Zang Toi -- were honoured by His Majesty the Agong on His Majesty’s official birthday on 1st June 2013. Michelle Yeoh received a Tan Sri award while Jimmy Choo and Zang Toi received Datuk awards.

Jimmy Choo’s and Zang Toi’s Datuk awards were received with great excitement all over the world. Michelle Yeoh’s Tan Sri award, however, was not. Michelle Yeoh was vilified and disparaged and called a bitch, prostitute, and so on. Some even alleged that she had bribed the Agong and had bought that award.

According to these critics, this is what most Chinese do. I am not sure whether that is true or not but if the Chinese say so then I suppose it could be true. After all, the Chinese should know better whether this were true or not.

Karpal Singh, on the other hand, congratulated Michelle Yeoh. He did not vilify and disparage her and call her a bitch, prostitute, and so on. Maybe Karpal does not spend enough time on the Internet so he is not aware that the opposition supporters have the opposite view to his regarding Michelle Yeoh’s Tan Sri award.

One of the arguments against Michelle Yeoh is that she lives overseas and hence she should not qualify for any award. Jimmy Choo and Zang Toi live overseas as well. Maybe it is because Jimmy Choo and Zang Toi received only Datuk awards and not Tan Sri awards so it is okay if you live overseas for Datuk awards whereas it is not okay for those who receive Tan Sri awards.

Another argument is that Michelle Yeoh is merely an actress so that is not good enough to warrant a Tan Sri award. The late P. Ramlee was also an actor and he too was given a Tan Sri award. The only thing is they waited until he died before giving him that award. Maybe they should have also waited until Michelle Yeoh dies before giving her a Tan Sri award. And maybe they should also wait until Jimmy Choo and Zang Toi die before giving them Tan Sri awards as well or else they may suffer the same fate as Michelle Teoh, which P. Ramlee was not subjected to since they gave it to him after he died.

Why they would want to give a Tan Sri award to someone who has died is beyond me. If they want to give me a Tan Sri award I would prefer they do it while I am still alive. Once I am dead and buried in my grave what the hell am I going to do with a Tan Sri award? I would not even know I have been given that award since once you are dead you lose all connection with the world.

I once knew someone called Tan Sri Jamil whose Tan Sri award was actually a hindrance when he travelled overseas. He was in Germany waiting for his flight and he noticed that the plane was terribly overdue. He then went to the counter to check on his flight and was told that the plane had already taken off some time ago.

“Why did you not page me?” he asked. “I have been waiting here for hours.”

“But we did, Mr Tan,” came the reply. “We paged you three times, Mr Tan, and when you did not respond the plane took off without you.”

Anyway, Michelle Yeoh should have stuck to her Datukship like Jimmy Choo and Zang Toi. Then she would have not been vilified and disparaged and called a bitch, prostitute, and so on. Or they should have waited until she died before giving her the Tan Sri award. Then she would also not have been vilified and disparaged and called a bitch, prostitute, and so on.

That, I believe, is the real issue here. I doubt she is being vilified and disparaged and called a bitch, prostitute, and so on, because she supports Barisan Nasional. Pakatan Rakyat believes in freedom of choice and freedom of association and one reason we oppose Barisan Nasional is because the government does not respect our right of freedom of choice and freedom of association.

The ex-PAS Menteri Besar of Kedah, Azizan Abdul Razak, was also given the Tan Sri award on 1st June. I suppose now the Umno supporters are going to vilify and disparage him and call him a bitch, prostitute and whatnot. And if they do not then why the hell not? After all, Azizan is on the opposite side of the political fence and hence an enemy of Umno. So it is only right that they vilify and disparage Azizan and call him a bitch, prostitute and so on even though this would be seen as an insult to His Majesty the Agong.

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Jimmy Choo: Datukship will make me work harder in promoting Malaysia

(Bernama) - Jimmy Choo-designed shoes may have adorned the feet of royalty and celebrities, but the man behind those dazzling creations insists that being humble and showing respect towards others have led him to where he is now.

And it appears that being bestowed with the Datukship honour by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah would not change the famed designer a bit.

"This (the title) would make me work harder in promoting Malaysia to the world. My shoes are travelling to Milan, Paris, the United States, the United Kingdom and other places.

"But the fact is that behind them is Jimmy Choo who hails from Malaysia," Datuk Jimmy Choo told Bernama with a sense of pride of his country after the investiture ceremony at the Istana Negara here.

Elaborating on the attributes which had contributed to his success, Penang-born Choo said: "You must respect people regardless where they come from. As for me, I have a high respect for my mother and my teachers as they are the people who have brought me to where I'm now."

Choo was one of the recipients of the Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) award, which carries the title 'Datuk', bestowed in conjunction with Tuanku Abdul Halim's birthday.

The designer said he was delighted to be given such a recognition from the country.

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Zang Toi fans "thrilled" over his datukship honour

(Bernama) - As news of Zang Toi's Datukship spread in the Big Apple, the city's haute couture world reacted in a choreograph-like applause over the honour.

Facebook and Twitter comments by friends and business associates of the celebrity fashion designer, who has been hitting the headlines not only in the United States but also in Europe, reflected his huge fan following.

In an interview following the conferment of the title, Zang Toi told Bernama that he had been receiving non-stop congratulatory messages from friends and business contacts from all over the US, Malaysia and elsewhere.

Zang Toi, who returns to New York on Sunday from the Kuala Lumpur awards ceremony, should expect a warm welcome from his New York friends.

"It's indeed a rare achievement by a lad who started his work life on a humble note as a grocer's son and finally reached the epitome of success," said Peggy Cartwright, a local fashion critic who writes about the latest fashion designs and innovations.

Zang Toi joins international film actress Datuk Seri Michelle Yeoh, conferred the Tan Sri, who are among the prominent personalities to receive honours awarded in conjunction with the birthday of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah.

Zang Toi appeared rather composed when he gave his post-award interview to this correspondent.

"It's indeed a great honour for me and I'm completely humbled by the gesture, especially because it comes from our King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah)," he said.

Describing the award as an "acknowledgement of my hard work", the Kelantan-born designer said he would like to share this "profound joy" with his parents and siblings who were all "extremely happy and thrilled" at the honour. 

The Datukship is another feather in the cap for Toi who had bagged several awards from professional associations for his innovative talent in the haute couture world.

Recalling how the entire story on his latest award unfolded, Zang Toi said that a week ago, he was on one of his business tours in the US when his voice mail showed an "extremely urgent message" left by his mother.

Fearing that something might have happened to his father, an octogenarian in frail health, he immediately called his mother.

She recounted receiving a call from some "high-ranking officials" in Kuala Lumpur, informing her of the honour being conferred on him, and that a formal communication to that effect along with an invitation to the awards ceremony had to be personally delivered to her son.

"In keeping with protocol norms, the formal letter had to be delivered to me and not to any one of my relatives.

"As a result, I immediately flew to Kuala Lumpur where I was given the notification and today (Saturday), I became a proud recipient of the title from the hands of the King," he said.

Noting that he was delighted to have received the honour while his parents were still around, he said: "You can imagine the great joy this has given to them and also to my brother and sister."

"I'm at a unique phase of my life right now...I can never forget my humble beginnings and I would urge every young Malaysian to take inspiration from my story - that hard work and enterprise have no limits," he said. 

The designer said he was in "very good company" at the investiture ceremony because Malaysia-born actress Michelle Yeoh had been awarded the 'Tan Sri' title at the same event.

"I know Michelle and it was a great reunion for us." Zang Toi, whose fashion products have adorned Hollywood celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Meg Ryan, Eva Longoria and others, is meanwhile planning to open his new showroom soon in New York.