The ‘King Khan’ was recently honoured by a prestigious award in Malaysia giving him the title of 'Datuk' (the equivalent of a knighthood in Britain). The award was given by the state of Malacca to the star for promoting the state via his movies and thus helping its tourism industry to bring forth the tourists leading to an upsurge in its economy.

Shah Rukh Khan with this title becomes one of the 750 people chosen for this award. This gesture marks the 70th birthday of Malacca's nominal head of state, Mohamad Khalil Yaakoob. Though the award is welcomed by some, many of the locales are protesting for the same. 

Malacca Chief Minister Mohamad Ali Rustam asserts that SRK has helped the promotion of the state through six of his movies which were shot at Malacca, One 2 Ka 4 being one of the which was shot at Malaccan resort. His movies has helped the government to save millions of dollars which otherwise would have been spent on its promotion through ads. However the Opposition leader leading the people who are against the award to SRK, Lim Kit Siang said that the honour should be conferred to local artists which will encourage them. He said if the title is being given to SRK then Hollywood stars like Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones should also be awarded as the duo shot for their 1999 flick 'Entrapment' in Kuala Lampur.