Ismail Sabri was accepted to read law based on merit, says UM alumni chief

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was accepted to read law in Universiti Malaya (UM) in 1980 purely based on merit, says Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

The UM Faculty of Law Alumni Association (Parfum) president said recent comments made on Facebook by user Andrew Peris, aimed to tarnish the image of the Prime Minister and to damage the reputation of the law faculty.

“When the Prime Minister was accepted in 1980, the late Tan Sri Prof Ahmad Ibrahim was the faculty dean.

“With a high level of integrity, it is difficult for simply anyone to be accepted without fulfilling all the requirements set by the faculty of law.

“It is clear that the acceptance of the Prime Minister into the faculty of law in UM was based on merit,” said Shahrizat in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 19).

Andrew had claimed that Ismail Sabri had failed national exams in a vocational school and had to resit his exams privately. He also claimed that Ismail Sabri had used “connections” to gain entry to UM to read law.

Shahrizat said that although Ismail Sabri was from a modest family, he managed to overcome challenges to achieve academic excellence in academics and to create history when he became the first graduate from the UM law faculty to be appointed prime minister.

“In nearly 50 years of its establishment, our faculty has successfully produced many leading figures including the Chief Justice and judges, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, members of the Cabinet, Attorney General, lawyers and respected members in the corporate world,” added Shahrizat.