Ambiga conferred France’s top civilian award

September 23, 2011
Ambiga (second right) poses with other recipients of the US Secretary of State’s Award for International Women of Courage in Washington March 11, 2009. — Reuters pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — Resplendent in a black-and-gold sari, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan was tonight conferred France’s highest honour, the Chevalier de Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour).

France’s ambassador to Malaysia, Marc Barety, said the award was to honour the Ambiga’s dedication to human rights and to boost the rule of law in Malaysia, as he pinned the distinctive five-pointed medal on her sari.

A small gathering of some 20 close friends and associates of Ambiga that included the who’s who of the legal world burst into loud cheers amid the popping of champagne corks.

The French award has catapulted the prominent lawyer into an exclusive club of some 20 people that include the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, airline maverick Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Ipoh-born Hollywood actress Datuk Michelle Yeoh, Barety said.

No comments: