Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan has confirmed his acceptance of the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) award which carries the title of Datuk from Malacca Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob next month.
“Shah Rukh Khan has agreed to accept it and this was conveyed to the Governor’s Office. He will try to make it in Novermber but the date of the ceremony has yet to be fixed,” Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam told reporters after the launch of the RM63mil Menara TM at MITC in Ayer Keroh yesterday.
He said arrangements for the actor’s trip here were being made through former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, who was the one who mooted the idea to Mohd Khalil.
He said the ceremony was not merely for the actor but also for those who were unable to receive their awards on the governor’s 70th birthday on Oct 11.The ceremony would also be for Japan’s Honda Motors chief executive officer Tokeo Fukui who was unable to attend the ceremony, he said.
Mohd Ali was asked to comment on whether the state had any intention of retracting the award following protest from several quarters including the issue being raised in Parliament on Monday by Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN - Kalabakan).
“No, there is no intention of retracting the award. How can you give something to a person and later ask it back.“That’s called being a buruk siku (a Malay idiom to describe one who has given something but later asks for its return),” he said.
He also defended the state’s decision to confer a Datukship on the actor, saying that he (Shah Rukh) had helped promote Malacca to an international audience through the film One 2 Ka 4 and the song Don on one of his CDs.If the state wanted to get this sort of publicity on CNN, it would have to pay millions, he said, adding that the move to confer the award on the actor would prompt him to shoot more films here.
Mohd Ali noted that local artistes were also conferred awards this year, such as singer Andre Goh, comedian Jantan Osman also known as Ali Mamak and 60s singer Mariam Ahmad who received the Darjah Seri Melaka (DSM) award.
