It is well-known that certain sections of the Malaysian community are not only highly status conscious but are also very keen to exhibit and flaunt their status whenever and wherever possible.

In many cases this desire covers not only titles and positions they themselves have earned but also that of their parents and even ancestors. This is most clear in situations when they include their parents' titles such as 'bin/binte Tun/Tan Sri, Dato'/Dato' Seri etc.

And then there are cases where these people display their 'official badges' on their cars for no rhyme or reason. The public is constantly reminded not only of members of parliament, but also of the host of parliamentary secretaries that seem determined to outdo each other in making themselves more visible.

In this connection, it is somewhat surprising that even judges should want to display their official car badges. It is not at all certain what purpose they think this is intended to serve.

Recently this status-conscious mentality also encroached into academia with a host of individuals clamouring to obtain honourary doctorate titles purely as status symbols. These titles are only supposed to be used within brackets to distinguish them from doctoral degrees earned through study.

The current practise by many of omitting the brackets raises the very real danger of misrepresentation in the giving of advice and guidance in certain situations.

And it seems now that this danger has arisen with individuals in certain statutory bodies using these titles. For instance, there appears to be some evidence of this in Suhakam.