After giving 40 years of his life to Jamaica's entertainment landscape as the former Sting promoter, and 20 years of national service as a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Isaiah Laing believes he is "well deserving" of national recognition. "The work that I've done in entertainment and the police force, I should've had an OD (Order of Distinction) to my name. The work that I've seen being done by police who got that award, I've done that many times over.
I more than deserve that award and every police in the force know, because most of them think I have got it before. The entertainment industry think I've got it also," Laing told THE STAR . With dancehall artistes Beenie Man and Bounty Killer set to receive ODs, Laing questioned "How Beenie and Bounty can get that over me when it's Sting, that I created, established them and many others? Because how are you going to crown the man who I build but not the man who build them?" But Laing was adamant that he was not going to beg for an award even though he has excelled in every avenue he's pursued.
"It's not a good feeling to know that you're in a job and you see some people getting award for something remarkable that they've done, when you know you've done things twice as much as that and nobody look at you. It hurts," he said. The ex-detective sergeant officer said he was only previously nominated for a Badge of Honour for Gallantry in 1988 but after the recommendation was sent in by his superintendent at the Adm.