ANUGERAH " DATUK " OLEH SULTAN SULU SELEPAS 1936 TIDAK SAH

'Datu" title no longer conferred

15th January, 2011   KOTA KINABALU: The interim government of the Sulu Sultanate has cautioned Malaysians not to be duped into buying the ‘Datu’ title purportedly conferred by the Sultan of Sulu. Its ‘interim Prime Minister’, Datu Albi Ahmad Julkarnain said the Sultanate no longer confers such title since 1936 following the death of the last Sultan, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II (1894-1936). In other words, all those ‘Datu’ titles purportedly conferred by the Sulu Sultan after 1936 are invalid. “only the reigning Sultan can confer such title to a deserving person who has exhibited excellent service and contribution,” Albi Asid said in a statement issued here yesterday. Albi who is currently here with his entourage of senior government officials for a private visit, was responding to complaints received from some local dignitaries over the alleged syndication of such title by certain individuals who proclaimed themselves as the Sultan of Sulu. He appealed to the Malaysian authority to act against those individuals and syndicates who are involved in the syndication of such titles. “This such be stopped once and for all,” he said. Meanwhile, he also urged the Tausug people, citizens of Sulu Sultanate currently living and working in Malaysia,Sabah in particular, to bear with the interim government while it strives to restore the Sultanate. – MICHAEL TEH (michael@newsabahtimes.com.my)