Oh, dear. After a week of intense speculation — much of it played out over edits made to his Wikipedia entry — over whether or not Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya actually attended to the illustrious University of Cambridge, British edition, we finally have an answer: He did go to a Cambridge, just not the one any of us are thinking of.
Admitting to online portal Malaysiakini that his degree was from the lesser known online, higher education institution based in the United States, Cambridge International University, he instead deflected any misleading conclusions to assumptions made by his critics: “I think [they] misunderstood,” he is quoted as saying.
Adding that prior to joining the Penang branch of Mahathir’s PPBM party, he had worked in logistics, he detailed that his long-distance learning course in Business Administration from Cambridge International University, was intended to expand his knowledge at work.
We’ll take the liberty of pointing out that Cambridge International University, based in the US, is not an accredited institution as per the US Department of Education. “Degrees” courses run up towards RM20,000 (US$5,000) in fees.
Marzuki’s university claim face-palm moment came to light last week, when political activist Muhsin Abdul Latheef filed a police report after a Facebook user pointed out that the actual University of Cambridge did not offer a long-distance learning degree in business administration.
Illusions of educational grandeur have never strayed far from political headlines. Back in 2013, then-minister in the PM’s office, Shahidan Kassim (currently on trial, and accused of impropriety with a teenage girl) told Parliament that there were no laws in effect to penalize degree dreamers and Oxbridge fantasists, including ministers.
Noted, sir. Though, last time we checked, employers don’t take too kindly to lying on your resume.
