GEORGE TOWN: In the longest honours list in five years, 1,380 individuals will be conferred state awards in conjunction with Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak’s 73rd birthday celebration.
Three individuals will be awarded the Darjah Panglima Pangkuan Negeri (DPPN), which carries the Datuk Seri title.
They are dates importer and distributor Datuk Seri Yusuf Taiyoob, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai as well as former Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd group CEO Datuk Seri Mohamed Hassan Md Kamil.
Only 35 living persons may hold the DPPN at any one time.
High distinction: (From left) Yusuf, Wong, Dr Bhupinder Singh, Chan, Augustine and Leon are among those to be honoured.
The award ceremony will be held over four days at Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town.
Another 21 people will receive the Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negeri (DGPN), which also carries the Datuk Seri title.
Among them are Penang state secretary Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus, Penang Water Supply Corporation CEO Datuk Seri Jaseni Maidinsa, Securities Commission chairman Datuk Seri Awang Adek Hussin, Penang Medical College senior consultant forensic pathologist Assoc Prof Datuk Seri Dr Bhupinder Singh Jeswant Singh and former Seberang Prai City Council mayor Datuk Seri Rozali Mohamud.
Eighteen individuals, including Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies director Prof Datuk Dr Aileen Tan, surgeon Datuk Dr Cheong Yew Teik and corporate figures Datuk Ang Cho Teing and Datuk Choong Chee Meng, will receive the Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negeri (DMPN), which has the Datuk title.
Others who were conferred the Datuk title under Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) are PKT Logistics Group executive director Datuk Augustine Lee, USM marine biologist Prof Datuk Dr Zulfigar Yasin, journalist Datuk Arulldas Sinnappan, Bukit Jambul Complex chairman and Penang Swimming Club president Datuk Chan Kean Hin, Malaysian Association of Hotels vice-president Datuk Khoo Boo Lim, Penang’s Escape theme park’s founder Datuk Sim Choo Kheng and Association of Tourism Attractions Penang chairman Datuk Ch’ng Huck Theng.
Of the other 1,380 awards and medals to be conferred, 107 are the Darjah Johan Negeri (DJN), 19 are the Bintang Cemerlang Negeri (BCN), 197 Pingat Kelakuan Terpuji (PKT), 333 Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (PJK), 536 Pingat Jasa Masyarakat (PJM) and 29 Pingat Bakti Setia (PBS).
Leon Lee, the founder of integrated property solutions consultancy Zeon Properties Group, will be conferred the DJN while the state government’s communications director and press secretary, Yap Lee Ying, will receive the PKT.
State Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang, who announced the list, said the ceremony would begin today and continue on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
“Looking back at the past five years, this year has the most title recipients,” he said during a press conference yesterday.
