David Arumugam, Khadijah Ibrahim now Datuks

PEKAN: Evergreen singers David Arumugam and Khadijah Ibrahim were Thursday conferred the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) award which carries the title of “Datuk” in conjunction with the Sultan of Pahang’s 74th birthday on Oct 24 last year.

David, whose real name is Thiagarajan K.R. Arumugam, and Khadijah were among 95 people who were conferred awards and medals from the Sultan at an investiture held at Istana Abu Bakar here.

David is the lead singer of the famous band the Alleycats while Khadijah has been part of the local entertainment landscape for over 30 years now.

When met, David said the award was an appreciation of the Alleycats’ contribution to the local music industry over the last 40 years.

“This is for the fans of the Alleycats,” he said, adding his trademark “terima kasih” (thank you) that all Malaysians are all too familiar with.

Heading the list of recipients Thursday were three Cabinet ministers, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed and Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, all of whom received the Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Ahmad Shah first class, the Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (SSAP), which carries the title “Datuk Seri.” Also to receive the SSAP were Army chief Jen Tan Sri Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin and Malaysia Steel Works Bhd managing director Tai Hean Leng.

At the investiture, three people received the Sri Indera Mahkota Pahang (SIMP) and eight the Darjah Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (DSAP) which carry the “Datuk” title.

Also, four were conferred the Darjah Setia Ahmad Shah (SAP), 13 Darjah Setia Mahkota Pahang (SMP), nine Darjah Ahli Ahmad Shah Pahang (AAP), seven Darjah Ahli Mahkota Pahang (AMP), seven Pingat Khidmat Cemerlang (PKC), 14 Pingat Kelakuan Terpuji (PKT) and 23 Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (PJK). -- Bernama