I refer to the letter Be stringent with titles . Michael Ng makes some good points about the nature of official titles.

The use of titles becomes an act of separation, of creating exclusiveness. In the medical world it has made some doctors feel that their opinion in decision-making - not just about intra-hospital politics but also patient care - should carry more weight than that of their untitled peers. Danger lurks in such assumptions.

Titled awards have become such a joke in medical circles now because most people know that these lifelong honours are - in most instances - bestowed not because of meritorious service to society but because of single acts of obeisance.

In fact, to remind people where the titles really came from, a wonderful series of nicknames have emerged.

For example the specialist who was rewarded for helping a VIP with his son's sinusitis treatment is widely known as the Sinus Dato, the orthopaedic surgeon who treated the royal thigh injury is the Femur Dato .

We have special nicknames for those who were awarded with Dato-ships merely for treating rectal conditions and impotence.

It is time to get rid of these practices which create artificial class distinctions in Malaysian life.