FOR Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia chief executive officer, Team Lotus team principal and Tune Hotel founder, it was a surreal morning at the Buckingham Palace when he received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) from the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, on Thursday.
The CBE, an award which is usually given to people with high-profile roles in regional affairs and who have made distinguished contributions in their area of activity, is limited to 8,960 holders at any one time.
This award from Queen Elizabeth II is the second major award conferred on Fernandes in Europe after receiving the title of Officier of the Legion d’honneur — the highest award for a non-French national — from the French government last year for his outstanding contributions to the aviation industry.
This time, it is for his contribution to “services to promote commercial and educational links” between the United Kingdom and Malaysia.“Princess Anne said she was amazed at how I made the move from music industry to airlines, and noted how big AirAsia had grown,” he said after going through one telephone interview after another upon his return from the investiture.
“Princess Anne said she was amazed how a Malaysian company had become so big, so fast and so profitable.”
Read more: Honoured for promoting UK-Malaysia link
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