Johor sultan's decision 'nothing to do with politics'

(Malaysiakini) The Johor Royal Council has confirmed that it has stripped PKR supreme council member Chua Jui Meng of his two 'datuk' titles, but denied that it was due to political pressure.

Its secretary Abdul Rahim Ramli (left) said the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, has the power to confer awards or withdraw them as he is above politics.

"There is no such thing as political pressure either to confer or withdraw the awards. The Sultan of Johor is above politics. Politicians have no say in this matter," he told a press conference at Istana Besar in Johor Bahru today.

Abdul Rahim also confirmed that the Datuk titles of three others had been revoked. The affected are Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir, the first Asian woman to cross the Antarctic, Commander Shaftdean Lufty Rusland and Hassan Yunos.

Rahim said the Sultan of Johor has full power, as provided under Article 12 of the Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia Rules and Regulations and Article 7(f) Section 2 of the State Constitution 1895.

Asked why the awards conferred to Chua were withdrawn, he said the Sultan of Johor did not have to cite reasons as it was within his prerogative.

He said those who had awards withdrawn should ask themselves whether they had done 'something honourable' or not.

"Don't do things that are against that done by good people," he said adding three main consideration for awards were loyalty, diligence and meritorious service.

He added only 712 individuals had been conferred with awards by the Sultan of Johor since 1886. Of the 712 recipients, only 120 are still alive.

Former MCA vice-president

Chua - who now sits on the PKR supreme council - said yesterday Abdul Rahim Ramli had called him twice asking him to return all his medals.

"(Abdul Rahim) told me that my two datuk-ships have been revoked," Chua, who was health minister from 1995 to 2004, told Malaysiakini.

To this, Abdul Rahim said that his telephone call to Chua was to be taken as official notification that his titles had been withdrawn.

"Chua is required to return these Johor state awards as soon as possible," said Abdul Rahim. The two titles are the 'Dato Paduka Makhota Johor' and the 'Seri Paduka Mahkota Johor".

Chua (right) also said yesterday that Abdul Rahim had refused to tell him the reason for the revocation, stating that the palace was not obliged to reveal its reasons.

Chua was formerly an MCA vice-president. He left the party after an unsuccessful second attempt for the president's post in the 2008 party election. He joined PKR in 2009.

However, he still retains his 'datuk' honorific as he had also been conferred state awards in 2002 and 2003 - by Pahang and Selangor respectively - which carry a similar title.

According to constitutional expert Prof Abdul Aziz Bari, the sultan has complete discretion in the awarding and withdrawal of royal honorifics and this is clear in both the federal and state constitutions.

Explanation needed

However, the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa academician said Chua had a right to know why the two titles were withdrawn as his 'reputation was at stake'.

"Even though the law is silent, it is highly inappropriate in this age to withdraw the titles without explanation as the public would get the impression that the holder has committed something wrong. The holder has every right to protect his or her good name."

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said today he would seek an audience with Sultan Ibrahim over the stripping of Chua's 'datuk' titles.