KOTA KINABALU: There's some head-scratching going on at the coffeeshops here over a Sabahan's claim that he was confered a top award by England's Queen Elizabeth II recently.
However, the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has since confirmed that no Sabahan named Wong Su En @ Jeffrey has been conferred the Knight Grand Cross (GBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
In a one-line statement, a British High Commission official in response to a query by a local daily said: “We can confirm that we have no record of any honour having been conferred at any time by the British government on Jeffery Wong Su En.”
Wong, who is Sabah DAP deputy publicity chief, became a much sought-after celebrity at home overnight, after he issued a press release to the local Chinese media, claiming that he had been conferred the prestigious award, which carried the title “Sir” by Queen Elizabeth II to mark the queen’s 84th birthday.
He claimed that the honour was in recognition of his contribution to international humanitarian aid organisations, Doctors Without Borders and Médecins Sans Frontières.
The press release and subsequent congratulatory advertisements from his family and friends in the local Chinese newspapers including a full-colour, quarter-page advertisement by some prominent businessmen, set tongues wagging.
Almost immediately many started questioning the credibility of the advertisement and the press release.
'Award' certificate
Among those who queried the purported award was Chin Tet Ming, a supreme council member of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS)-cum-People Development Leader for Luyang, who demanded an explanation from the Sabah DAP.
A check of the queen's birthday 2010 honours list on the official website of Buckingham Palace revealed that no such person had received such an honour nor had the award been conferred on any person this year.
It is reliably learnt that some police officers from the Special Branch here questioned Wong on the matter and he had shown them his “award” certificate and the counterfoils for his air tickets to London via Brunei dated 6 June, 2010, purportedly to receive his award on June 9.
They, however, released him after taking his statement, since no police report was lodged against him over the matter thus far.
Meanwhile, Sabah DAP chief Dr Hiew King Cheu confirmed that the party has decided to sack Wong and that Hiew was preparing to issue him (Wong) the letter of termination.
He said, however, that the sacking was not due to the controversy but rather over his claim that he is the Sabah DAP Youth chief when he is only the Sabah DAP deputy publicity chief.
DAPSY national chairman, Anthony Loke, also clarified that Wong is not the Sabah DAP Youth head as he has been claiming in the past.
'Highly irresponsible'
“Wong's claim to be the Sabah DAPSY chief is not only untrue but highly irresponsible. His actions are misleading thenpublic and are not condoned by the DAPSY national executive council.
"All his press statements and announcements are not associated with DAPSY and have nothing to do with the party. He must be held responsible individually for what he said.
“I view his actions seriously and I will refer him to the DAP disciplinary committee to be sacked from the party,” said Loke in a statement.
Hiew, the Kota Kinabalu MP, also disclosed that a senior official at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur had contacted him in Parliament recently, to inquire about the whereabouts of Wong.
Hiew told the official that he too had been trying to get in touch with Wong to seek clarification on the matter ever since it was first reported in the local Chinese newspapers, but to no avail.
“He (Wong) just didn’t bother to answer my calls,” he said.
Once an aide to former Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and current MCA Sabah adviser, Chau Tet On, Wong, a self-proclaimed traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, is no stranger to controversy. He once attracted attention when he announced he was pursuing a career in acting and modelling in Hong Kong.
He claims to hold a “doctorate” in traditional Chinese medicine practice and addresses himself as “Dr” Jeffrey Wong.
Those who know him were nonetheless shocked by his latest claim, describing it as probably a most “daring and outrageous” bluff.
Many are stupefied by Wong's outrageous claim and wonder what motivated him to do so. They are also concerned that the British government representatives here could initiate action against Wong for the misrepresentation.
Wong, who has been keeping a low profile since the issue started attracting attention, has left word that he will explain the whole matter at a more convenient time as he is "still busy with some other matters".
Source:Free Malaysia Today
