THERE was no intention to mislead the public about his academic qualifications, said Deputy Foreign Minister Marzuki Yahya as the debate about his tertiary qualification continues to rage on social media.

The Bersatu secretary-general said he had clearly stated that his qualifications came from Cambridge International University in the United States and not the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom when questioned by the media.

“Anyone can alter a Wikipedia page. And I have never instructed or entered information about my education in the Wikipedia page about me,” said Marzuki in a statement today referring to an entry about his qualifications in the online encyclopedia.

Marzuki came under fire lately after a Facebook user said the deputy minister did not graduate with a degree in Business Administration in Logistics from the UK university as it did not offer distance learning.

The Penang senator said he began his course at CIU in 2002 when he was the CEO of a logistics company in Penang.

“I wanted to learn about shipping and logistics from advanced countries such as the US to help grow my business.

“When I graduated in 2005, not many Malaysians talked about university accreditations. There wasn’t even a proper university ranking system such as what we have today. And there weren’t any lists about bogus universities,” said Marzuki.

He said that he had not even considered the university’s accreditation.

“My sole intention was to obtain knowledge in my field. I had no idea I would be a member of the government’s administration today.

“I hope my clarification is sufficient to clear up the confusion. And with this, I will accept any decisions by the prime minister and my party leadership as to my positions as Bersatu secretary-general and deputy foreign minister.”

Marzuki also included copies of his transcript and qualification from CIU. – February 8, 2019.