Datukship for Shah Rukh Khan?

While the average Ali, Ah Chong and Aru are grappling with the rising cost of food and services, the local papers headlined on October 11 that Shah Rukh Khan was bestowed a datukship by the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Malacca on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Apparently, the recommendation was made by Tun Daim Zainuddin because Malacca was featured in one of Khan's movies many years ago. The movie was partly filmed at A' Famosa, Malacca.

The logic offered by the powers that be on any given issue never ceases to amaze the ordinary rakyat. Many of us are convinced that Khan does not even know where Malacca is and that tourism in Malacca did not get boost as a result of that movie. Going by the same logic, perhaps Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery should also be awarded datukships for their roles in the movie Entrapment, filmed at the PETRONAS Twin Towers. My 76-year old mother, who is well-informed about world affairs as she reads the Utusan daily, surmised that perhaps Tun Daim, being the businessman that he is, has plans to venture into the movie industry in Bollywood; hence the award....makes sense, uh?

There was a time when datukships were awarded to deserving personalities...they had served the country in their respective fields over the years and generally lived up to the dignity of the title. Not any more - these days, datukships are a dime a dozen and are bestowed rather generously. A case in point is twenty-something Lee Chong Wei; he was bestowed a datukship after winning a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. Yes, he did the country proud by winning the Olympic silver but shouldn't he have to prove that he is not a flash-in-the-pan athlete before being considered for the award? Someone like Nichol Davids who has consistently been world number one is a good example of a deserving case.

Bollywood stars are well-known for their arrogance and Khan is no exception. I once had the opportunity to watch him shoot a movie at KLCC and he totally ignored his mostly Malay female fans who swooned over him. He is also famously known for keeping our VIPs, including Tun Mahathir, waiting for two hours during a show at Genting Highlands. It is not surprising that he was not present to receive the award...it does not mean anything to him and it is not beyond him to expect the award to be presented to him in Bollywood. Pleeeeaase....let's just call off plans to have the award presented to him at a special ceremony - he does not deserve the award in the first place!

Come on people, if you are so crazy about Khan because of his looks, just go to Balakong, Kuala Lumpur....where you can find many Bangla look-alikes - minus the famous "to-die-for" abs and biceps, unfortunately!