KUALA LUMPUR: The Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 or Act 555 need not be amended as the existing legal provisions are sufficient to curb the activities of awarding fake academic certificates, the Dewan Negara is told.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir (pic) said the existing law provides for a fine of up to RM200,000 or two years' imprisonment or both for individuals or institutions found to commit the offence.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Dr Lingeshwaran R. Arunasalam during the question and answer session at the Senate on Thursday (March 13).
The senator wanted to know whether the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 needed to be amended to ensure stricter action to address the issue.
However, Zambry agreed with Lingeshwaran's suggestion to hold an open audit of all high-ranking government officials, including Members of Parliament and Senators to ensure that no one is using fake academic certificates.
Responding to Lingeshwaran's original question regarding the widespread awarding of fake Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in Malaysia and the number of institutions involved, Zambry said the Higher Education Ministry has not received any complaints about institutions of higher learning in the country that awarded fake PhDs.
Zambry said every public university has its database system that stores information on students who have graduated, including PhD graduates.
"The data must be submitted to the ministry every quarter for collecting student data. The ministry also has developed a system for searching for information on recipients of honorary and doctorate degrees from public and private universities on the Graduate Reference Hub for Employment and Training portal.
"This system is constantly updated from time to time where the data is updated after receiving approval from the university Senate, so we can provide a reference for any party to do their search," he said. - Bernama
