How important are academic qualifications these days? They are fairly important but not the be-all and end-all. For some careers, it is crucial. For example, a doctor, lawyer, accountant or engineer.
These are professions that have a ruling body that certifies individuals for them to work. For other careers, it probably isn’t as important, such as journalism or entrepreneurship.
I’ve been a journalist for over 20 years and, full disclosure here, I do not have a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I graduated as an accountant, but when I went for an interview at a local newspaper, they hired me anyway because it only required the candidate to have a degree in any field.
Even then, it was just a matter of pay grade because they would still hire non-degree holders to become journalists.
I eventually obtained a master’s degree in journalism. Aside from giving me more understanding and knowledge about the profession, it didn’t really give me an advantage in my career as a working journalist.
It did open the doors for me to start a teaching career. I was able to get a teaching permit from the Education Ministry to teach journalism at the university level.
Enough about me. The point I want to make is - how important are academic qualifications for someone who wants to run for public office?
Do academic certificates matter?
Some degrees would seem to be a fast track for politicians, such as political science, law, public administration, governance, etc, but in all honesty, it doesn’t matter because anyone can run for office.
We have had successful politicians and elected leaders from all walks of life - from businessmen to lawyers, medical doctors, and teachers. Some don’t have a degree while others even have PhDs.
What matters is their integrity, responsibility, honesty, and transparency, rather than any paper qualification or whatever high-ranking job they were holding before.
Sure, a good resume with a good track record can mean that the individual is efficient, proficient, and professional at getting the job done. It could also represent intelligence - all good qualities in a person.
The matter of fake qualifications
Many politicians attach their resumes and biographies when they head into an election to impress voters. All would be fine and well if they were all legitimate, but there have been instances where those already elected into office were caught either faking their qualifications or exaggerating them.
There was one politician who made a claim of graduating from the prestigious University of Cambridge in the UK when he really just took a long distance course from a similar sounding institute like the Cambridge International University in the US which is apparently notorious for being a degree mill.
There was also one individual in public office who had been caught outrightly claiming to have a degree from a local university when he did not finish his studies.
After being quizzed, the said individual had to apologise for the mistake and correct websites listing his academic qualifications. Quite embarrassing.
Another person in the cabinet was called out when it was claimed that she had obtained a degree from a university in Singapore, but checks with the varsity showed otherwise.
She released a statement saying she never said she had graduated from the said university or authorised anyone to make the claim on her behalf. Okay, so that one can be given the benefit of the doubt.
Integrity, honesty are what matter
The point here is that one can have numerous paper qualifications of the highest level, but if they lack honesty and integrity, it all means nothing.
I would rather have someone who doesn’t have a university degree or has low or average grades but isn’t a liar and can be trusted to be in public office, instead of someone who is an intellectual genius but can’t be trusted.
So hats off to Pakatan Harapan’s Pang Sock Tau who is running in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election when she took up the challenge by PAS’ Ahmad Fadhli Shaari to reveal her education background.
She had obtained straight A’s in her SPM and UPSR examinations. She didn’t even feel the need to blow her horn about her excellent results and only stated it after being challenged.
Of course, this all came about when her opponent, Perikatan Nasional’s Khairul Azhari Saut, had his credentials questioned. Good on him that everything turned out well because the university that issued him his master’s degree has confirmed the award.
But it is sad to see that in Malaysian politics, lying about personal credentials is still an issue when it is something that we just trust would be the truth.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said that Harapan is not bothered about academic qualifications and that it was the public and not them who raised the issue of Khairul’s credentials.
They also only released Pang’s exam results after the challenge was made. Again, academic qualifications are not important for someone to hold public office, but honesty and integrity are.
In this day and age, it is not difficult to call people out on their lies. The accessibility of information and the available resources to research almost anything means nobody can hide anything easily anymore.
This wouldn’t be a problem for people who are already honest, to begin with, but for people who have always built their careers or lives on lies, things aren’t looking so good for them.
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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