Loke Dap Cec Will Decide Actions Against Duo Over State Awards

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The DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) will decide on appropriate actions to take against two of its leaders who accepted state honours from Sabah governor Juhar Mahiruddin this morning, said party secretary-general Anthony Loke.
The party leaders are Sabah DAP leader Chan Foong Hin and Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin Zhe.
Chan and Phoong were among 88 individuals who were conferred the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu award, which carries the “Datuk” title, in a coronation ceremony at Istana Seri Kinabalu today.
Sabah DAP secretary Phoong Jin ZheIn response to Malaysiakini, Loke revealed that he had advised the duo to adhere to DAP’s current policy, which states that only retired party members are allowed to accept honours from heads of state and federal governments when Chan informed the CEC two days ago about the offer of the state awards.“Without submitting any applications, Chan said that both names had been gazetted in the awards list.
“They have violated the party’s policy by accepting the awards.
“Therefore, the matter will be referred to and deliberated upon at the next CEC meeting,” he told Malaysiakini when contacted today.
‘Received in good faith’
Earlier, Chan, who is also deputy agriculture and food security minister, was quoted as saying by The Borneo Post that he found it difficult to turn down the award as he is “a Sabahan and the offer came from the Yang di-Pertua and Sabah government”.
“So, I received it in good faith,” he reportedly said.
Sabah DAP leader Chan Foong HinThe Kota Kinabalu MP also divulged that both he and Phoong had considered declining the award but their names had already been gazetted.
“Once our names were gazetted, we felt that we needed to respect the decision and recommendation by the Sabah government and Juhar.”
Further, he said he was aware of DAP’s policy and was prepared to face the party’s decision over the matter. - Mkini

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