Datukship for Shah Rukh Khan

My bad, that should be Datuk Shah Rukh Khan, right?

HA- HA - HA.

Back when I was a kid, being a Datuk is a big deal. Everyone looks up at you, people wants to be closed to you and many will claim that they are your long lost relatives. It was not easy to get that Datukship. You got to be a really successful person or really filthy rich.

But unfortunately, it has now become a joke.

Not only that there are tonnes of Datuks nowadays (hence stripped away the 'special' factor). I am also confused as to what criteria are being taken into consideration in order to honour someone with a Datukship. It has become so common that when you yell "Datuk!" in your local shopping mall, chances are, many will answer your call with a "YES?"

And the latest joke has something to do with Bollywood (Boley-wood?)

I saw a friend's Yahoo Messenger's status that was something like this "In Bolehwood, even Shah Rukh Khan gets Datukship." I thought that must be a real joke. You know, the joke joke. But apparently it IS the real deal. He was honoured with Datukship from Melaka. HA - HA.

And apparently the main reason for him getting the honour was because he helped promoted Melaka so much in his movies. Actually, in one movie. I couldn't recall knowing other countries in the world that honour someone else (not their citizens) with a grand title (Datuk is almost like Sir in England. Almost.) because that person had promoted that particular country.

It is not confirmed yet when Datuk Shah Rukh Khan will go through the ceremony but I have a feeling that it is quite likely that he won't even be there. He is a busy man, promoting countries and all.

Well, I suppose this is like a free promotion. All the hype maybe, maybe could promote Melaka although I'm afraid it could be for the wrong reason. Oh my beloved hometown.