‘Maharaja Kinta’ title does not even exist, Perak official says

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — The man who has proclaimed himself to be a royal called “Maharaja Kinta” is using a title that does not even exist, Dewan Negara Perak secretary Datuk Ayob Hashim has said.

Ayob pointed out that even if the man could have descended from the line of Perak dignitaries who held the post of “Datuk Panglima Kinta”, it was not a royal title and was merely a post conferred by the Perak Sultanate on the state’s officials.

“That individual may be from the descendants of the person who held the post of Datuk Panglima Kinta, but he cannot declare himself as holding that post, furthermore with the title ‘Maharaja Kinta’ which is a post that does not exist,” he was quoted as telling local daily Utusan Malaysia.

Ayob said that the man also could not declare himself as the current Datuk Panglima Kinta, as the post currently known as Orang Besar Jajahan Kinta is held by former Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan and the next in line is Toh Muda Orang Kaya Panglima Kinta Seri Amar Bangsa Diraja, Datuk Ab. Wahab Azizul Hassan.

Ayob said that each appointment to the official post has to be approved by the Perak Sultan, although the post is handed down to the descendants of the Datuk Panglima Kinta.

“Every appointment process has to follow the rules. First it must receive the approval of the Perak Sultan and then the Dewan Negara Perak will investigate and scrutinise the application to a post.

“Cannot self-appoint or self-declare for that post. Even the installation of the Raja Muda Perak and Raja Dihilir Perak follows the set process,” he was quoted saying.

He called the actions of the self-proclaimed “Maharaja Kinta” to be the work of a mad person.

Utusan Malaysia also reported history expert Prof Datin Dr Ramlah Adam as saying that the descendants of Panglima Kinta are not of royal descent and are not qualified to be a sultan or declare themselves as “Maharaja Kinta”.

The Dewan Negara Perak’s members include the Perak Sultan, Raja Muda, Raja Di Hilir, Raja Kechil Besar, Orang Besar Empat, Orang Besar Lapan and the state’s Mentri Besar.

Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia reported that a 60-year-old man claiming to be a descendant of a  Panglima Kinta was installed as “Maharaja Kinta” last November in a ceremony in Selangor and had awarded Datuk Seri and Datuk titles to others.

The self-professed “Maharaja Kinta” was said to have changed his name in his MyKad to include the title “Yang Mulia Datuk Seri Paduka Raja” illegally via an intermediary in the National Registration Department (NRD), with payments allegedly made for the information change.

The newspaper also reported that some of the Datukships sold by this individual can fetch up to RM40,000, along with additional fees of between RM2,000 to RM5,000 for these to be inserted into their Mykad.