Honorific titles such as Datuk, Tan Sri or Tun in Malaysia should not to be given simply to anybody whom the rulers and government thinks highly of. In Malaysia, the reasons why these titles are given out are all wrong. They are given without care for the purpose these titles are there for.

In Malaysia, titles have been given to some Malaysians who were the first Malaysians to swim across the English Channel, go to the South Pole, sail around the world and other achievements that many consider to be nothing more but their personal quest.

Even in the ancient Malacca Sultanate, only a small group of people who had served the people were given these awards. And none of them were from the members of the royal family. The latter already had titles in the form of 'Raja' or 'Tengku'.

No members of the British royalty is given any title awarded by the government because it would demean their royal stature. In Malaysia, it has become almost a habit that members of the royal families, including distant relatives, be given titles by the reigning sultans though this should not be the case.

Don't they know this practice will put them - including some crown princes - on par with others who have been awarded similar titles? It is a shame that members of the royalty in Malaysia have stooped so low and allowed themselves to be called Tengku 'Tan Sri', or Raja 'Datuk' or Tengku 'Datuk' and so on when they should all be above government titles.

Their royal titles should be sufficient for them, unless they still think that being a Tengku, Tunku or Raja is still not enough.

I cannot imagine Prince Charles of Britain being given the 'Sir' and being called Prince Sir Charles. He is the crown prince, so he is of a different breed of people. If he were to be awarded the 'Sir', then he put on the same level as all the others who have received the title and there is no distinction between him and them.

We also notice that those who are given the title 'Sir' are those who are renowned worldwide and who have brought glory to England. They also bring in revenue to the country and not deplete its coffers or get contracts from the government. And they are mostly in their sixties and sometimes seventies before they are given this title which they carry well.

I hate to compare them with their counterparts in Malaysia, especially the many Datuks who are constantly in the news for the wrong reasons or in parliament talking in an awkward tones. It is quite obvious that they do not care about the titles that they have before their names. On the contrary, they may become hostile and behave erratically just because they have such titles. They imagine, albeit, wrongly, that such titles carry some form of 'immunity' from prosecution by the authorities.

There are also many people given titles by the state rulers even though they may not live in that state or contributed anything towards it. And they are also not known by anyone in the state. Therefore, it is not surprising to note that at each investiture ceremony, those in the crowd will be wondering who the person receiving the award is.

In the end, although it is really the prerogative of the Sultans or King to bestow such titles upon individuals in Malaysia or those from other countries, in reality, they should be 'bestowed' by the people of Malaysia who believe that these individuals have done great things for them.

Ungku Abdul Aziz, the former vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya, once refused to accept the award that carries the title 'Tun'. In an earlier time, the chief minister of Melaka was simply called Haji Abdul Ghani Ali. He was without a 'Datuk' title until he was in his seventh year in office. Today, the menteri besar of Selangor was given a Datukship within weeks of his appointment to the post.

The late, great Khir Johari refused all titles during his term in office and only accepted the Tan Sri title in the 1980s, a decade after he retired from the cabinet. "You must serve first and prove yourself. Only then can you accept titles and awards," he said.