Honorary titles do not reflect a person's level of success or glory. Instead, the person's conduct and contribution to society are what matters, said Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu.

He pointed out that having a title also does not guarantee the support of the people when it comes to politics.

"To me, success or failure does not depend on the title one gets. It depends on the noble efforts one undertakes on a consistent basis.

"Friends have told me that the Malays respect those with titles, but my answer is, in politics and election, there are those with Tun, Tan Sri, Datuk Seri, and Datuk titles who end up losing to 'normal people', they get rejected by the rakyat," he wrote on Facebook today.

The Amanah president's statement comes after he was bestowed the Seri Mahkota Wilayah award by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, in conjunction with the Federal Territories Day yesterday. The award carries the title Datuk Seri.

Mohamad said he appreciated the honour, but stressed that titles should not be used to gauge how “noble” a person is.

"What is important is that a person, whether titled or not, must work to uphold fairness and justice, and fight against injustice in society," he added.

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