KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak must sack members of his Cabinet found with engineered academic qualifications to prove his commitment to government reform, a DAP MP said today after naming two new ministers as owning fake degrees.
DAP Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming has accused Human Resource Minister Richard Riot and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Dr Ewon Ebin.
The former was listed as having a bachelor in business administration from the Chartered Institute of Business Administration in Ireland, Teoranta and a Masters from Preston in USA while the latter had obtained his doctorate from business administration from Golden State University in Wyoming, USA, and also a master in the same field from the Commonwealth Open University which is based in the British Virgin Islands.
Ong said all of the universities are known to be “degree mills” with some officially declared unauthorised and invalid.
“It is truly disappointing that on the first day for ministerial replies in the first parliamentary sitting since the 13th general election, Malaysians have to accept the reality that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has appointed two ministers with two dodgy degrees each from institutions which are degree mills,” he told reporters in Parliament here.
Ong added that it is more worrying that the two implicated ministers helm ministries responsible for accreditation, certification and human capital development.
MOSTI is also responsible for distributing funds for certification of innovation related enterprises and safeguarding intellectual property rights.
“Therefore, to entrust two ministers with fake degrees with the serious responsibilities of human capitol development and the management of certifications and standards is not only a gross embarrassment but also most ironic for a prime minister who has made transformation his clarion call,” Ong said.
The first-term Serdang MP noted that similar controversies in developed democracies often led to the immediate resignation of those implicated.
Ong said given the more serious nature of the revelation, Najib must ask the two ministers to quit to reflect his seriousness in upholding accountability.
