FORMER JCORP PRESIDENT AND CEO TAN SRI MUHAMMAD ALI HASHIM HAS RETURNED THREE STATE MEDALS TO JOHOR COUNCIL OF ROYAL COURT

Former JCorp chief returns Johor state awards

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Johor Corporation (JCorp) president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim (pix) has returned three state medals to the Johor Council of Royal Court.

Muhammad Ali, who is Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce president, in a statement Saturday, said the move was taken following the council's secretary Datuk Abdul Rahim Ramli's statement on Dec 5 in response to his (Muhammad Ali) article published in a local newspaper dated Dec 2.

The three state medals were the Datuk Seri Paduka Mahkota Johor (SPMJ) medal, which he received on April 8, 1996, the Datuk Paduka Mahkota Johor (DPMJ) medal, which he received on April 8, 1984, and the Setia Mahkota Johor (SMJ) medal.

Both the SPMJ and the DPMJ medals carry the title 'Datuk'.

Muhammad Ali said he had also written to Abdul Rahim, dated Dec 18, to offer his explanation on the article, titled 'Menuntut Hak, Menebus Masa Silam', which Abdul Rahim claimed could create negative perception of the Johor royal institution.

"I strongly refute the allegation or perception that the poem (written by his youngest child, Khaled, who died on Nov 23) cited in the article contains motives described in the statement," he added.