KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 ― A number of people have been claiming royal links in recent days, most notably one Raja Noor Jan Shah Tuah who insists he is the rightful heir to the now defunct Malacca sultanate, but a traditional medicine seller from Johor has gone a step further in declaring himself a Malay monarch.
The unnamed man has been calling himself “Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sri Sultan Notobroto Nusantara” a title that puts him as the equivalent of the king of Southeast Asia since 2011, following recognition by some Indonesian sultans purportedly descended from Sultan Demak, Malay broadsheet Mingguan Malaysia reported today.
The anonymous man has also been earning mega bucks dishing out a number of royal awards to hundreds of Malaysians in a recent ceremony in Indonesia, the weekend edition of Utusan Malaysia reported.
“For medals carrying the title of Datuk the price is about RM35,000, a Dato' (RM45,000) while a Dato' Sri ranges from RM95,000 to RM100,000,” an unnamed source was quoted as saying in the exclusive front page report in the Umno-linked paper.
“All payment covers all services and facilities including transportation and attire for the awards ceremony,” the source added.
According to the report, the awards ceremony is held twice a year, between February and October.
The next ceremony is scheduled for March in which the self-declared “Agong Nusantara” is expected to hand out “Datuk” titles to six individuals.
“Most of those who receive the award from the ‘Sri Sultan’ are businessmen. They so desire a ‘Datuk’ or ‘Datuk Seri’ title to raise their image,” the source added.
The “Agong Nusantara” is reportedly a Johorean and is currently residing in one of the southern states in the country with his wife bearing the magnificent title of “Kanjeng Sri Ratu Notobroto”, the Malay paper reported.
