The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Johor, or Seri Paduka Mahkota Johor, is a chivalrous medal awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted July 31, 1886.
It is awarded in three classes:
- Knight Grand Commander (Dato' Sri Paduka-S.P.M.J.),
- Knight Commander (Dato' Paduka-D.P.M.J.) and
- Companion (Setia-S.M.J.).
Male recipients of these royal awards, the Dato' Sri Paduka Mahkota Johor (SPMJ) and the Dato' Paduka Mahkota Johor (DPMJ) are entitled to be addressed with the honorary title “Dato” (equivalent to ‘Sir’) and their female spouse “Datin” (equivalent to ‘Lady’). Female recipients are given the honorary title Datin Paduka but there is no accompanying title for their male spouse.
The Order of the Crown of Johor is the oldest royal order in the country, introduced some 30 years before any of the other Malaysian royal households introduced a similar order. The awards are bestowed based on three main criteria namely; loyalty, meticulous service and diligence. Since these royal awards were first conferred in 1886, only 712 individuals have been honoured, an average of only five honours per year making it reputedly the rarest and hence most prestigious ‘Datoship’ (or knighthood) to get in Malaysia. Awards are conferred at His Majesty's discretion, in conjunction with the birthday of HRH the Sultan of Johor. The annual Honours List is published in most mainstream Malaysian media and newspapers.
Famous quotes containing the words order of, order and/or crown:
“Undoubtedly we have not questions to ask which are unanswerable. We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy. Every man’s condition is a solution in hieroglyphic to those inquiries he would put. He acts it as life, before he apprehends it as truth.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“While I am in favor of the Government promptly enforcing the laws for the present, defending the forts and collecting the revenue, I am not in favor of a war policy with a view to the conquest of any of the slave States; except such as are needed to give us a good boundary. If Maryland attempts to go off, suppress her in order to save the Potomac and the District of Columbia. Cut a piece off of western Virginia and keep Missouri and all the Territories.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Ye distant spires, ye antique towers,
That crown the wat’ry glade.”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)