Kian Ming: You don't need a degree to be a good politician but ...

MITI Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming

PETALING JAYA: One does not need a degree to be a good politician or a successful company CEO, says Dr Ong Kian Ming.

The Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister in a tweet said on Thursday (Feb 7): "You don't need a degree to be an effective politician. Just like you don't need a degree to be a successful CEO."

He, however, added: "What is not acceptable is to claim that you have a degree when you don't have one or the one that you have is from a degree mill."

His response follows after Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya is being questioned over his academic credentials. 

Marzuki previously said he had a degree from the University of Cambridge pursued through a distance learning programme. 

However, he later admitted that his degree was actually from the Cambridge International University in the United States.

In 2013, Dr Ong had called upon then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to take action against two Cabinet ministers for allegedly having fake degrees.

You don't need a degree to be an effective politician. Just like you don't need a degree to be a successful CEO.

What is not acceptable is to claim that you have a degree when you don't have one or the one that you have is from a degree mill... — Ong Kian Ming (@imokman) February 7, 2019