Money politics has evolved into title politics. Such is the situation, even though the Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam has stressed that the awards made recently in his state had no link to the last Umno polls.

The general public has concluded that the large number of 'Datuk' titles awarded - to 84 people with a third of them being Umno leaders from various levels - as rewards for supporting the newly-elected Umno vice-president.

Perhaps Ali Rustam has spoken truthfully when he clarified that the awards were in appreciation of the contributions from the various 'datuks' to the nation, and did not have any connection with the election of top Umno leaders recently.

But due to the awards being made just two weeks after the party polls, it is easy for it to be linked to Ali Rustam winning an Umno vice-president post. As such, this writer will give him the benefit of the doubt, and conclude that what has taken place is just 'bad timing'.

Perhaps the list of recipients of awards was already in the hands of the state government and the Yang Dipertua Negeri several months ago, and what has happened was an actuality. As such, that Malacca state government, the Chief Minister and the governor cannot be faulted.

However, the questions that arose from the issue of title politics cannot be silenced just like that. The opinions of several political and social leaders like Dr Rais Yatim and Lee Lam Thye must be considered.

Dignity of titles

Rais, who prior to this, had loudly criticised the awarding of datukship by several states in a commercialised manner, once again stood up to criticise what happened in Malacca. According to him, the number of datukships awarded was too large.

He said that the arbitrary conferment of titles has degraded the value and prestige of the titles. [In jest] Rais even suggested that the number of recipients of Malacca titles should have been rounded up to a nice round figure of 100!

Social activist, Lee Lam Thye, wanted the titles to be conferred only on those who are qualified to received them. There is truth in their criticism, as Malaysia is now flooded with datuks. An Umno veteran once joked that if ten stones were thrown in a meet-the-public gathering in Putrajaya, at least three of them will hit a datuk or a datin.

And that is how commonplace a datuk in Malaysia is. Recently, the number of 30-somethings awarded the title has also grown large. Their 'success' at securing the title at such a young age should be questioned. What contribution and service have they rendered? Many of them were not even well-known to the rakyat.

Businessmen, who all along only know how to reap profits for themselves, have suddenly been conferred titles. Political figures, who have only become active in the party recently and have just served some months as newly elected MPs or state assemblymen, were described as having served meritoriously.

More shockingly, politicians from Kelantan, Pahang, Sabah and Kedah were awarded titles from Malacca! If they have truly served and were appreciated by the rakyat, why did their own respective states not honour them?

In such a scenario, Ali Rustam cannot be angry or be hurt when some of the rakyat question the motive behind the awards made.

Generosity in Malacca

Malacca - for the last three years - has been known for its generosity in conferment of titles. Fifteen years ago, it was not as easy as today to be conferred a title like datuk, datuk seri, datuk wira, datuk paduka, datuk amar and such. The recipients were viewed highly and honoured.

As such, the development in Malacca should be studied in depth by the government. We must avoid widespread title politics. We must not forget that title politics is but a branch of money politics. If it is not curbed, it is as if we are condoning the scourge of money politics itself.

Perhaps the call once made by Rais that the total number of datukships awarded each year should be limited to a certain number should be given due consideration. He has even called for a fixed guideline to be established for the selection of recipients of titles.

The time has come for Rais' proposals to be implemented. Only when the standards and requirements for the awards have been set more strictly and transparently, will the titles have more value and meaning.

In the present scenario, where datuks are found everywhere, society does not view the datuks and datins highly enough. There are even some who laugh at so-and-so who is just a ' RM100,000 Datuk ' or ' Logging Datuk '.

We have heard many tales of the selling of datukships by certain parties to those who were able and desperate enough for the titles to pay up to RM100,000 to RM250,000. Some of them have even been cheated in such deals, and have dragged their cases into courts.

This practice is an unhealthy one. It threatens the credibility of the royalty and the government. As such, the federal and state governments, who are directly responsible for proposing the names of recipients of awards, must act quickly to salvage the honour of the honorific titles and medals of the Malays.

We must not allow the titles of datuk and datin to be used as bait to fish for votes!