KLANG: Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has always been known for not standing on ceremony. And yesterday he showed exquisite consideration for the two elderly recipients of the Dato Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (DSIS) award.
Breaking with protocol, he stepped down to confer the award, which carries the title Datin Paduka, on Mother Mangalam Iyaswamy Iyer and Sister Enda Ryan. Normally recipients have to step up onto the dais and approach the throne.
Mangalam, 81, said she was touched by the Sultan of Selangor’s gesture.
“I experienced the human side of royalty and I am proud to receive the award from him,” she said, adding that he asked her to advise the Indian community not to be extreme, saying that he cares for them.
Ryan, the 79-year-old founder and first principal of Assunta Secondary School in Petaling Jaya, said she felt honoured and humbled.
She added that she was receiving the award “on behalf of her Franciscan Missionary of Mary Order, which has long served the country in the field of education. I know there are other more deserving people, and I am humbled by the award".
Ryan said she was pleasantly surprised that two of her former pupils were also receiving awards at the investiture ceremony, held in conjunction with the sultan’s 62nd birthday at Balairong Seri, Istana Alam Shah.
The prime minister’s wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah received the Seri Paduka Mahkota Selangor (SPMS), which carries the title Datin Paduka Seri. And Education Ministry parliamentary secretary P. Komala Devi received the Dato Paduka Mahkota Selangor (DPMS) award, which carries the title Datin Paduka.
“They are living proof and fruit of the seeds we sowed as teachers,” said Ryan.
A total of 34 datukships were conferred by the sultan.
