The Indian President presented five Padma Bhushan and 38 Padma Shri awards at the civil investiture ceremony held at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan last Monday.

India’s Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan were among several dignitaries present at the function.

People from different walks of life including foreigners were awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

Malai Haji Abdullah received Padma Shri and as one of the Asean recipients of the award in 2018 for his contributions in social work.

Padma Shri is the 4th highest civilian award in the Republic of India after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

Padma Shri awardees are named annually on the eve of the Republic Day, which falls on January 26.

This year, 85 awardees were announced including 10 from the Asean region, to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the India-Asean partnership.

"Alhamdulillah, it’s a Rizq from Allah the Almighty. I am thankful and my advocacy for SMARTER continues.

"I dedicate this award to individuals with autism (IWA) everywhere, especially at SMARTER," Malai Haji Abdullah said in his social media page.

Netizens congratulated him for the outstanding achievement.

"It is well deserved recognition for your dedication and commitment," said one of them.

Malai Haji Abdullah told the Bulletin in January, "I feel humbled and honoured to be listed for the award by the Government of India, in recognition of my work for the autism-affected.

"This recognition is definitely a motivation for me to carry on my work in bringing SMARTER to higher standards, to be among the best in the world, with a ‘family first’ approach and ensure the support of the magic PILL, which stands for ‘Parent Involvement Life Long’."

Highlighting his plans for 2018, Malai Haji Abdullah said SMARTER will welcome more international attachment students, provide employment and competency-based skill training and move towards financial stability and sustainability.

Other Asean recipients of Padma Shri awards include Philippines’ Jose Ma Joey Concepcion for his contribution in trade and industry; Malaysia’s Datuk Ramli Ibrahim (art-dance), Bounlap Keokangna of Laos (architecture), Cambodia’s Hun Many (public affairs), Japan’s Prof Tomio Mizokami (literature and education), Myanmar’s Thant Myint-U (public affairs) and Indonesia’s Nyoman Nuarta (art-sculpture).

Tajikistan’s Prof Habibullo Rajabov (literature and education), Nepal’s Sanduk Ruit (medicine-oncology) and Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Thien (for spiritualism) were also among those awarded Padma Shri.