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Former minister Isa Samad has lost his Tan Sri title. Apparently, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim stripped Isa of his title following his conviction on corruption charges.
The news generated headlines and social media discussions. Some debated whether it was long overdue, while others argued that many others should have their titles stripped as well.
As I followed the coverage, however, I found myself wondering something rather awkward.
What did he do to receive the Tan Sri title in the first place?
What were the achievements that earned him the second-highest title in the country?
I ask this not because I am suggesting he did not deserve it. I genuinely don't know. And if we are being honest, I suspect many Malaysians don't know either. We know he was a Tan Sri, and now we know he is no longer a Tan Sri - which says something interesting about our relationship with titles.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped caring about why people receive honours and started caring far more about the honours themselves.
In Malaysia, titles are not simply recognition. They are transformations.
The first thing that changes is usually the name card.
Yesterday, you were Rahman.
Today, you are Dato' Rahman.
The title appears in bolder, larger letters, sometimes even engraved in gold. Your actual name is still there somewhere underneath, but it now feels like the supporting cast.
Soon, people stop calling you Rahman. You become Dato'.
Not a Dato'. Just Dato'.
The strange thing is that many countries have honours too. The United Kingdom has knights.
Elton John is Sir Elton John.
Mick Jagger is Sir Mick Jagger.
Yet I somehow doubt their friends spend every dinner conversation addressing them as “Sir.”
I imagine Elton’s friends still call him Elton. And Mick’s friends still call him Mick.
Meanwhile, in Malaysia, once Rahman becomes Dato' Rahman, nobody dares call him Rahman anymore. That would be seen as disrespectful.
It is almost as though the title slowly swallows the person.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with recognising people who have served the nation. Every country should honour achievement.
The problem begins when the title becomes the achievement.
We see the rank and assume merit. Whether we know anything else about the individual becomes almost secondary.
This obsession is not limited to title holders themselves. Society participates enthusiastically in the entire performance.
We print titles on event banners, on invitations, and on press releases. At events, seating arrangements are organised around titles. Emcees end up rehearsing the full list of honorifics just so they do not offend someone important.
Seriously, we are a nation deeply fascinated by hierarchy.
Perhaps that fascination comes from our culture. Perhaps it comes from our history. Perhaps it comes from our love of status and recognition.
Whatever the reason, we seem unusually attached to the idea that some people must constantly be reminded that they are important.
Which brings us back to Isa Samad.
Now that the title has been revoked, what happens next?
Do people continue calling him Tan Sri out of habit?
Or do old friends suddenly revert to calling him Isa?
Most people think title revocation means a complete fall from grace. But in Malaysia, title holders often possess several titles from different sources. Losing one can sometimes mean you're still left with a perfectly respectable collection of titles.
It's almost like a frequent-flyer programme. You don't lose all your points. You just get downgraded one tier.
And in Isa’s case, he may no longer be “Tan Sri Isa Samad,” but he is still “Dato' Seri Utama Isa Samad.” If that is stripped too in the future, then he can still count on being called “Dato' Isa Samad.”
So if someone accidentally wrote “Tan Sri” on an invitation, they could quickly correct it with the lower-ranking title - though I doubt Isa is going to be invited anywhere now that he is serving a six-year prison sentence in Sungai Buloh.
Fa Abdul (fa.abdul.penang@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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