DAP’s Datuk: Just continue calling me Jimmy

TAWAU: Assistant Minister to the Sabah Chief Minister, Wong Sze Phin or Jimmy Wong, a newly-minted Datuk, wants the public to keep calling him Jimmy.

He received the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK) award, which carries the title “Datuk”, from Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin recently.

He said his name Jimmy was easy to pronounce and would bring him closer to the public.

“It is easy to call me Jimmy or Tiger, that title need not be used. I did not ask for it, I just asked for a chance to serve the people,” he said here yesterday.

Wong, who is Sabah DAP adviser, was commenting on a statement by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng on several DAP leaders who received awards and titles from Melaka and Sabah recently.

Wong was among 35 people who were accorded the PGDK award in conjunction with Juhar’s 65th birth- day celebrations on Oct 6.

He said since then, people had begun calling him “Datuk”.

“In the party, we do not encourage (the title Datuk) but when I was offered, I did not know whether I should accept or not.

“We are now waiting for a decision by the DAP’s central executive committee (on the award). We will abide by the instructions of the party, if the award should be returned,” he said. — Bernama