PhD candidates to face tighter conditions after Siti Mastura controversy

Higher education minister Khaled Nordin said a PhD holder may be an expert in his or her field but not well-versed in other matters. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: More stringent conditions will be imposed on candidates who want to pursue a doctorate following a controversy sparked by a PAS MP, says higher education minister Khaled Nordin.

However, he said there was no way to control the behaviour and conduct of a PhD holder.

“(A PhD holder) may be an expert in his or her field but not well-versed in other matters.

“It is very unfortunate, especially when it involves graduates from renowned universities like Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM),” he said in the Dewan Rakyat when winding up the debate on the 2024 supply bill at the committee stage.

Khaled was responding to RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) who had asked the ministry to monitor universities to ensure that only those who were qualified obtain PhDs, in an apparent swipe at PAS’s Kepala Batas MP, Siti Mastura Mohamad.

On Nov 4, Siti Mastura claimed that DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang was a cousin of the late Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng.

She also alleged that Kit Siang and his son, Lim Guan Eng, were cousins of the late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, and that Seputeh MP Teresa Kok is a cousin of Betty Chew, Guan Eng’s wife.

Last week, Kit Siang confirmed that he would take legal action against the PAS MP for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him.

Checks show that Mastura has a PhD in philosophy from USM.