Maszlee reiterates PM's emphasis of integrity in gov't

Education Minister Maszlee Malik today reiterated that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants his cabinet to espouse Japanese values of integrity.

"He said, 'I want them to have this sense of humility. I want them to have a sense of shame if they commit wrongdoing'.

"In our first cabinet meeting he said, 'I want the ministers to have that sense of integrity. If they fail to accomplish certain things, they should feel ashamed'," Maszlee said at a dialogue in Subang Jaya today.

Maszlee's remarks come amid an atmosphere where the integrity of Pakatan Harapan government leaders is being questioned, following a scandal involving allegedly fake degrees.

When asked at a press conference later about how the values of integrity and humility would translate into how he would tackle the issue of fake degrees, Maszlee said that such matters should be referred to the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

"We have MQA to evaluate all those genuine degrees, in comparison to whatever fake or non-genuine degrees. So refer to the MQA.

"For those who want to continue their studies, make sure their institution is accredited by the MQA," he said.

The fake degrees scandal began after questions were raised about the academic qualifications of Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya.

Marzuki clarified that he had a degree from the US-based Cambridge International University. However, critics say the institution is a degree mill, and his academic transcript has shown anomalies.

Since then, other Harapan government leaders have also had their qualifications scrutinised.

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, and Deputy Human Resources Minister Mahfuz Omar have denied having degrees.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, meanwhile, said he would let his lawyer handle questions about his accounting credentials.

Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian is also having his degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia scrutinised. - Mkini