‘Agent wanted to use ruler’s influence’
JOHOR BARU: The agent who approached and offered Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar RM2 million to obtain recommendations for “Tan Sri” titles was attempting to use the ruler’s influence to go about his illegal endeavours.
A source told the New Straits Times that the individual sought a recommendation letter from the ruler so that he could forward names of candidates to the chief secretary to the government for them to obtain the Darjah Panglima Mangku Negara (PMN), which carries the title “Tan Sri”.
It is learnt that the agent, who holds a string of honorific titles, including “Tan Sri” and “Datuk”, had first approached the ruler two years ago.
Despite being shown the door the first time, the agent was persistent and met the sultan again recently.
“After the recent audience was granted to this agent, the sultan expressed his displeasure.
“In a way, the sultan felt insulted that he was offered such a large amount of money to recommend names to the chief secretary to the government to issue ‘Tan Sri’ titles,” the source said.
“The agent had made a claim that every ruler of every state could recommend two names to receive the award.”
The NST learnt that the same agent has approached the royal households of at least two other states.
In an exclusive interview published by Media Prima Bhd on March 22, Sultan Ibrahim had said there were agents who approached him believing that the ruler had “Tan Sri” quotas for sale.
One of the agents offered the ruler RM2 million to suggest names to the chief secretary to the government so that they could receive “Tan Sri” titles from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
After making the expose, Sultan Ibrahim said he was willing to reveal information to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding the matter.
Two days after the expose, MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki told a Malay daily that the commission would gather information on the matter.
Azam had described the agent’s action as a form of corruption.