Thursday, October 28, 2004
Datuk or Dato'?
By rule of thumb, Federal States confer the salutory titles of "Datuk", and States with a Sultan confer the titles "Dato'".But what about the Prime Minister? Does our Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi use "Datuk" or "Dato'"? Conflicting evidence are found everywhere!
I pointed my browser to the Prime Minister's Office website, thinking that this is the place to obtain the correct information.
On the header of the page, in elegant print, it was written there "Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi". I thought, "Aaahh.. There you go!"
Contented with my find, I scrolled down the page to see what's in the PMO website, never having been in there before. I came to this article.. guess what? The article started off with "Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi..."
At this point in time, I was really confused. And upset. And mad. Can somebody tell me which salutory title should I use for the PM?!
Can I call the PM's Office to find out? Will they give me a quick tutorial lesson on the difference between a Datuk and a Dato', and when to use what?
Completed an advertisement yesterday for a client congratulating the PM on his first year in office. We used "Dato'".
Posted by Doreen at 11:39 am
