The Kelantan palace has revoked the Darjah Kerabat Al-Yunusi (DK) title awarded to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, effective last Tuesday.
Sources from his office confirmed the former prime minister received the letter at his residence on Feb 6 and is in the process of returning the award to Kelantan.
The award, which is limited to 25 recipients at any one time and is usually reserved for royalty, was bestowed on Dr Mahathir in 2002 by then Sultan Ismail Petra, the father of the present Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V. The award does not come with a title.
It was reported in 2012 that Sultan Ismail had gifted the award to Mahathir to recognise and appreciate his immense contribution to the country.
In December last year, the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) president and his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali voluntarily returned two of their respective awards to the Selangor palace, following a tiff over the “Bugis pirate” jibe.
Yesterday, it was reported that the vice-president of Parti Amanah Negara (PAN), Datuk Husam Musa, and chairman of PAN Kelantan, Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah, were also stripped of their Datuk Paduka titles by the Kelantan palace.
Both their titles were revoked effective Feb 6.
Related report: Feb 7, Kelantan Palace Strips Husam and Wan Rahim of Datukship