KOTA KINABALU: Sabah DAP’s Likas assemblyman Tan Lee Fatt said he misspoke to the media about writing to the Chief Minister to turn down the state’s second-highest honour, the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK).
“I wish to clarify that I did not submit a letter to the Chief Minister,” he said in a text message on Tuesday (Oct 15), referring to his impromptu press conference the day before.
He also said he has not written to any other officials to decline the award, which carries the title "Datuk".
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It was reported that Tan, when met at the 2024 Integrity, Governance, and Anti-Corruption Convention (KITA) on Monday (Oct 14), said he had written to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to decline the award and that he had yet to receive a reply.
He was reportedly among 87 listed recipients of the award.
The DAP has a long-standing policy prohibiting elected representatives from accepting honorific titles while in office.
Despite this, several Sabah DAP leaders have received such awards, including Datuk Jimmy Wong and Datuk Frankie Poon, as well as Datuk Chan Foong Hin and Datuk Phoong Jin Zhe, who accepted theirs last year; and the late Datuk Stephen Wong.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke later confirmed that Chan and Phoong were reprimanded for accepting the titles, though it remains unclear whether any action was taken against the others.
