‘Fake degrees akin to fake Louis Vuitton’
Shahidan said: “If someone has a degree from an unrecognised university, there is nothing we can do.
“Maybe the person just wants to keep it for their own personal use, to frame it in their homes.
Anisah Shukry, FMT
PETALING JAYA: Fake degrees and degrees obtained from degree mills are like “fake Louis Vuitton” — no action can be taken if it is for personal use.
Minister in the Prime Minister Department Shahidan Kassim said this in the Dewan Rakyat today, in response to Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming’s question on whether the government was aware that two Cabinet Ministers, Serian MP Richard Riot and Ranau MP Ewon Ebin, had dubious degrees.
Ong had also claimed Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is chairman of Lembaga Tabung Haji, and Mohammed Emir Mavani Abdullah, the chief executive officer of Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd had questionable qualifications.
Side-stepping the question entirely, Shahidan said: “If someone has a degree from an unrecognised university, there is nothing we can do.
“Maybe the person just wants to keep it for their own personal use, to frame it in their homes.
“If we want to create a law that people can only own degrees from recognised universities, it would also have to cover fake branded products such as imitation Louis Vuitton handbags. That is too much work for us.”
Elaborating on his analogy further, he said: “If you walk around with a fake Louis Vuitton handbag, people will just jeer you for carrying one. It’s the same with fake degrees.”
But he asserted that such degrees could not be used to apply for jobs, and action would be taken if individuals were caught doing so.
He said those guilty of using fake degrees or degrees from unrecognized universities to gain employment or promotion may be sacked, pointing out that there were two such cases, in 2007 to 2012.
But he declined to comment on the specific cases Ong had mentioned.
‘I worked hard for my degree’
However, during his turn to answer a question, Riot took the opportunity to defend, saying that there was a difference between fake degrees and degrees obtained from unrecognized universities
“I worked very hard for my degree because I believe in life-long learning,” said Riot, who is Human Resource Minister
“As a former deputy foreign minister, I have represented Malaysia outside the country and given speeches in English not less than 50 times.”
Ong had previously highlighted Riot’s Masters in Business Administration from Prestong University – a well-known bogus university
Meanwhile, Ewon’s alma maters, the Golden State University in Wyoming and the Commonwealth Open University in the British Virgin Islands, are listed as ‘unauthorised schools and invalid degrees’ by the Oregon and Maine state governments, according to Ong.
