Do I have to be a Datuk to get some service around here?
Once you have it, it seems you are blessed with preferential treatment and doors are always open rather than slammed shut in your face.
I received the rudest shock ever when making dinner reservations one afternoon at a high-end restaurant in the Klang Valley. While chatting with the manager about the menu, I requested for a cosy little nook at the end of the restaurant, far from the madding crowd.
To my utter surprise, the manager nonchalantly informed me that my eyed spot was reserved strictly for Tan Sris and Datuks. What made me bristle with anger more, was learning that the spot was not even reserved at that point in time.
Feeling like a total plebeian, I struggled to maintain my composure all the same, and acting calm (well, I hoped so anyway), I politely cancelled the reservation and walked out of the eatery in as elegant a manner as I could. I was not going to let this episode smudge my makeup.
Another incident that bothered me no end was when a waiter completely ignored me, as he fawned over a demanding Datuk and his brood, repeatedly using the ‘Datuk’ word while at the man’s beck and call, much to the chagrin of the other patrons.
So, do I need to be conferred a title to get a spot of my choice in certain restaurants, when I am a paying patron?
Do I need to be a Datuk or a Datin or a Puan Sri to catch a waiter’s attention?
Do I need a dizzy array of honorific titles and plaques attached to my car bumper in the hope that my precious vehicle gets parked in a choice spot at the hotel entrance even after handing over my car keys to the parking valet?
Do I need a title to beat a long queue so I can saunter into a prestigious event or receive a deeper bow from the people in the hospitality line?
Perhaps this is the reason why so many are eager to receive titles in Malaysia.
There’s preferential treatment to look forward to. Doors are always open for you, rather than slammed shut in your face messing up your perfect hairdo that cost you a tidy fortune.
Besides it is rather cool, I must admit, to click Datuk on drop-down titles when filling online forms, rather than the good old Mr, Mrs or Ms.
Titles are awarded to those who have served the people and country. Titles are given out annually on the birthdays of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan, or Governor.
Receiving a title is a huge honour, and with it, I believe a certain degree of decorum must be maintained by the recipient, humility being one of them.
Perhaps Datuks and such should remember that these titles were bestowed upon them because of their well-recognised contributions to the nation or their unrelenting efforts at charity, and that they actually made a difference to people’s lives.
Which brings me to another query. How do we know if these titles are valid and genuine? Ah, members of the public can now visit a website (www.istiadat.gov.my) to satisfy their curiosity.
I am sure personnel in the hospitality line have this website on standby mode on all their devices, hand held or otherwise, to instantly cross check names, faces and car plaques or stickers, in order to wait, serve and entertain the chosen ones as the titles demand.
p.s. This article bears no ill feeling to those who have contributed to our society and nation. The writer is neither envious nor jealous of you but only wishes to join you in your next soiree or dinner.
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p.p.s And I promise never to check the above mentioned website in your presence.