Chief Justice heads Penang honours list of 1,138 people

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria heads the list of 1,138 people conferred state awards by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas in conjunction with his 74rd birthday today.

He is the sole recipient of the Darjah Utama Pangkuan Negeri (DUPN) that carries the title Datuk Seri Utama.

Three people will receive the Darjah Panglima Pangkuan Negeri (DPPN), which carries the title Datuk Seri.

They are Country Heights Group of Companies founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, Mini-Circuits Technologies Malaysia chairman Datuk Seri Kelvin Kiew Kwong Sen and business tycoon Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping.

A total of eight people are awarded the Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negeri (DGPN) award that carries the title Datuk Seri.

Among them are Barkath Group CEO Datuk Barkath Ali Abu Backer, Oriental Holdings Bhd and Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Loh Cheng Yean and High Court judge Zakaria Sam.

DGPN recipients also include Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi founder Master Cheng Yen and former Penang State Secretary Datuk Zainol Abidin Salleh.

Five people are awarded the Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negeri (DMPN) that carries the title Datuk.

Among them are Penang Malay Association deputy chairman Datuk Azmi Merican, Manikkam Enterprise managing director Datuk M. Suppiah and St John Ambulance Malaysia (SJAM) Penang commander Datuk Dr Yee Thiam Sun.

A total of 57 people are awarded the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) that carries the title Datuk.

They include Court of Appeal judge Anantham Kasinather, High Court judge Varghese George Varughese, National Heart Institute senior consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Jeffrey Jeswant Dillion, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, Malvest Group of Companies executive chairman Tan Ah Lee and Penang Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry committee member M. Navaratnam.

Also on the DSPN list are state executive councillor Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, PAS central committee member Dr Mujahid Yusof, Penang Municipal Council president Patahiyah Ismail, Penang Symphony Orchestra founder and director Woon Wen Kin, Penang Hospital director Dr Yasmin Sulaiman and The Accreditation Committee for Neurology, National Specialist Register president Prof Dr Tan Chong Tin.

B. Braun Group chairman Dr Heinz-Walter Groese who hails from Germany is a recipient of a DSPN honorary award.

Among the 64 recipients of the Dar­­­jah Johan Negeri (DJN) are Penang Consumer Protection Association president K. Koris and Indian Association of Penang vice-president N.G. Ganapathy.

State Public Order and Traffic chief Supt Che Wan Aziz Che Wan Husin and Penang Water Supply Corporation corporate affairs manager K. Jeyabalan are among the 33 recipients of Bintang Cemerlang Negeri (BCN).

A total of 179 people are awarded the Pingat Kelakuan Terpuji (PKT), while 341 people will receive the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (PJK).

A total of 333 recipients will be honoured with the Pingat Jasa Masyarakat (PJM) and 114 for the Pingat Bakti Setia (PBS).

During the announcement of the award list in Komtar, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said 20 general workers – 10 each from the Penang Municipal Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council – would receive the PJM award.