Ekhwan, who resigned from his post in UKM last week, had been conferred the Darjah Setia Bakti Negeri Sembilan in January 2019, Sinar Harian reported.

“The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan has commanded that the Darjah Setia Bakti Negeri Sembilan awarded to Ekhwan be revoked effective immediately.

“This decision is for the purpose of preserving the honour and respect for the Negeri Sembilan royal institution,” state secretary Zafir Ibrahim reportedly said.

This follows allegations on social media accusing Ekhwan of committing abuse of power and misappropriation of funds as the UKM vice-chancellor.

Ekhwan lodged police reports over the allegations while police have recorded the statements of top officials from the public university in its investigation.

The case is being probed under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities.

In his resignation letter submitted to higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, Ekhwan said he was leaving the post so that he could “focus on other matters”.