Saarani leads 192 award recipients in conjunction with Sultan Nazrin's 65th birthday

IPOH: Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad leads a list of 192 recipients of awards, honours and medals in conjunction with the 65th Birthday celebration of the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah, on Nov 5.

Saarani, 60, who was appointed the state's 14th Menteri Besar on Dec 10 last year, has received the 'Darjah Dato' Seri Paduka Mahkota Perak' (SPMP) award, which carries the title 'Datuk Seri'.

Orang Kaya Bendahara Seri Maharaja, Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Dr Mohd Zahidi Zainuddin said Sultan Nazrin is also pleased to confer the 'Dato' Paduka Cura Si Manja Kini' (DPCM) award to State Legal Adviser Azmir Shah Zainal Abidin, which carries the title 'Datuk'.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zahidi said the Sultan has bestowed the 'Dato' Paduka Mahkota Perak' (DPMP) award carrying the title 'Datuk' to 13 recipients, including Perak State Education Department Director Dr Mohd Suhaimi Mohamed Ali and Department of Chemistry Malaysia director-general Mohamed Zaini Abdul Rahman.

Among other recipients of the DPMP are Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arham Abdul Rahman, Perak State Customs Director Dr Mohamad Saprin, Berita Harian Group Editor Saidon Idris, Perak State Forestry Department Director Datuk Mohamed Zin Yusop and State Head of Protocol and Ceremonies in the Perak State Secretary's Office, Toh Jana Pahlawan SAC (Rtd) Abu Bakar Romlee.

Anuar Othman

Meanwhile, Perak Criminal Investigation Department chief SAC leads the list of four recipients of the 'Dato' Pahlawan Taming Sari' (DPTS) award, which carries the title 'Datuk Pahlawan'.

The other three recipients are Marine Region Two Commander Rear Admiral Rusli Ahmad, Chief of Staff of Air Operations Command Headquarters Major General Felix Gonsalvez Alexander and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon of the Lumut Army Hospital, Brigadier General Dr Musa Kasmin.

Sultan Nazrin has also bestowed the 'Paduka Cura Si Manja Kini' (PCM) award to nine recipients, the 'Paduka Mahkota Perak' (PMP) to 23 recipients and the 'Ahli Cura Si Manja Kini' (ACM) to eight recipients.

Apart from that, a total of 44 individuals have received the 'Ahli Mahkota Perak' (AMP) award, while 47 received the 'Pingat Pekerti Terpilih' (PPT), 33 received the 'Pingat Jasa Kebaktian' (PJK) and nine received the 'Pingat Lama Perkhidmatan' (PLP).

Mohd Zahidi said the investiture ceremony for the first series of award recipients involving the bestowing of the titles Datuk Seri, Datuk Seri Panglima, Datuk and Datuk Pahlawan, will be held at Balairong Seri, Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar on Nov 14.

He said the ceremony for the following series of recipients would be organised according to the date approved by Sultan Nazrin, and subject to the COVID-19 pandemic situation at the time.

"The implementation of the investiture ceremony is also subject to strict adherence to standard operating procedures, whereby recipients will be required to undergo RT-PCR testing at a health facility recognised by the Ministry of Health three days prior to the ceremony.

"Self-tests using the Saliva Test Kit should also be carried out on the morning of the ceremony, to ensure that the recipients present are free from COVID-19 infection," he said.

-- BERNAMA