Dr. Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak. Doctor??

By A Concerned Citizen

The value of a law degree or Ph.D. from Monash Univeristy is about to take a nosedive when Najib Razak is awarded an honorary degree of laws and deliver a keynote address on March 4th. One wonders what are the qualifications for an honorary degree these days. It would hardly be a surprise to see Hosni Mubarak or Muammar Gaddafi around campus as well, perhaps getting awards for their great contributions to human rights or peace and security. Najib would be in good company.

Maybe while they are at it Monash can heap accolades on Najib for his memorable contributions to interfaith dialogue and building peace and understanding between the Muslims world and the west. He did of course call for a global movement of moderates, a catchphrase likely hatched in the dungeons of APCO's K St headquarters at the cost of about RM 50,000 taxpayer ringgits. Of course a few days after calling for moderation he told his UMNO party members to prepare to have their bones crushed before relinquishing power in Malaysia. And just recently he told Malaysians that Islam a superior religion to other religions in Malaysia because of course he is a great theologian and not the leader of a multi-ethnic country.

And maybe during his keynote address upon acceptance of a Doctorate of Law Najib can talk about his own commitment to the rule of law and good governance. That would of course include all the steps he's taken since coming to office to reform Malaysia's dysfunctional judiciary of which there are none. Or the work he's done to eliminate corruption and punish those ministers who have fleeced billions of dollars from Malaysia. One could also congratulate him for the arrest of over 1000 people in 2009 in Malaysia for the crime of demonstrating publicly. He also should be given a big kudos for making sure that Malaysians continue to die in custody.

And not to mention the most despicable case of Teoh Beng Hock over which Najib can take credit for an "inquest" that has determined the dead Teoh Beng Hock was neither murdered nor did he commit suicide. I wonder if there is a legal phenomenon to describe that. Speaking of death - perhaps Najib also deserves an accolade for getting to the bottom of the murder of Altantuya. After all, our courts have sentenced to death two officers in Najib's 0utfit for singlehandedly hatching and executing a plan to kill and destroy Altantuya.

Of course Monash University has a big campus in Malaysia. Many Malaysian students spend a lot of money filling up Monash's coffers in Malaysia and in Australia. Maybe as repayment for that Monash is obligated to award the Malaysian Prime Minister with an honorary degree from time to time, irrespective of his qualifications to deserve that degree. Show me, where in the contract between Monash and the Ministry of Education is that requirement listed. Tell me - Monash University, who told you that you need to do a little back scratching for us so we can scratch your back.

Malaysians are trying to get rid of a rotten system, a ruling party that has long since abdicated its responsibilty to protect and defend the constitution of this country. We have no faith in UMNO to lead this country and are ready to lay our lives down to make things better. So why must you and your so called liberal progressive values undermine our values. Why must you give credibility to this poor excuse for a Prime Minister and give him some fake, meaningless degree that he can show off to his friends to make him feel like the world respects him. Shame on you Monash. Shame on you.
In the meantime, if you so wish to voice your concerns over this award, the Chancellor of Monash University, Dr. Alan Finkel, can be reached at Alan.Finkel@monash.edu or at +61 3 990 52007.