Yet More Foreigners With Fake Degrees in Senior PMET Positions Found!

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

As more of the tip of the "foreigners-with-fake-degrees-displacing-SGs-with-real-degrees" iceberg is being uncovered, the intent of the FAP's "flood-SG-with-foreigners" policy and "foreigners-create-jobs-for-SGs" mantra become even more questionable and ludicrous!


http://therealsingapore.com/content/...s-degree-mills


DEAR TRS, I FOUND 7 MORE WORKERS WITH DEGREES FROM DEGREE MILLS




Post date:
24 Apr 2015 - 8:31pm












Dear TRS,
Here is another set of cases of foreign 'talents' and lucky Singaporeans who have managed to get jobs here in Singapore despite having degrees from degree mills. The fact that many of these people managed to get top jobs shows the severity of the situation. Please refer to the screenshots attached in the email.

1) Freddy Darmawan - Executive Director/Business Owner at ISGS Pte Ltd
Here is his LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/pub/freddy-darmawan/8/31/363

He has a MBA degree from Preston University which is a known degree mill. I'll explain why Preston University is a degree mill afterwards.
2) Rames Butarbutar - Business Finance - Asia Pacific at Dow Chemical Singapore
Linkedin: https://sg.linkedin.com/pub/ramses-butarbutar/9/87a/4a0

He has a bachelors degree and a Masters in Business Administration from Preston University
So all his qualifications are from a degree mill.
3) Asif Iqbal - Director, Regional Sales Hub - Asia, Middle East & Africa at CSC - Computer Sciences Corporation Singapore
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/asifi9

He has a degree from Preston University too.

Okay, here are the reasons why Preston University is a degree mill.
Firstly, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston...United_States) states this:
"Preston University is a private for-profit unaccredited institution that offers a variety of academic degree programs bydistance learning. Preston was originally based in Wyoming and in 2007 was based in Alabama. As of 2012, Preston identified Los Angeles, California as its base of operations.[1][2][3]
Preston University is owned by Abdul Basit, who lives in Pakistan.[4]
About 30 affiliated campuses throughout the world were listed by Preston.[5] A number of degree programs ranging from associate to Ph.D. in a variety of disciplines were offered.[6] As of August 2012, the Oregon Office of Degree Authorizationreported that the university was operated from Pakistan, had formerly operated in Wyoming and Alabama in the United States, had recently started "selling degrees from" the U.S. state of California, had been active in Nepal in 2009, also had a presence in Dubai, and used several different institutional names in several world regions"
Next, if we dig a bit further, there was a Straits Times article which listed Preston University among others as a degree mill. The Straits Times refused to back down when Preston University objected to being labelled as a degree mill. (Source: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Educati...906-86167.html). Preston is also on a list of universities listed as degree mills: https://peoplecheck.co.kr:442/resources/down/list01.pdf. Malaysia's news website also reported that it was a degree mill (http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?fil...ocus%2F4575051). Lastly, even Pakistan where Preston University is based also classified Preston University as a degree mill (http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.sg...rsities-i.html).
When there is abundant information to show that Preston University is a degree mill, why is foreign 'talent' from such dodgy universities still being hired in Singapore? Why hire a foreigner with a suspicious degree instead of a Singaporean with a credible degree?

4) David Wong - A Malaysian FT who is the Senior Manager, Promotions Management at HAVI Global Solutions Asia Pacific LLC
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/pub/david-wong/35/467/905

This is the most ridiculous case yet. He holds a diploma, a bachelor's degree and a master's degree, all from Dublin Metropolitan University. This university is a well-known degree mill that was reported in Malaysia's news (http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?fil...ocus%2F4575051). It is also listed as a degree mill here: http://therealsingapore.com/content/...ogus-varsities










(Yes! Even TRS had previously reported about this degree being from a degree mill). It seems that the Singapore authorities were not paying attention to the news and instead continued to hire foreigners with such unreliable qualifications. It is astounding that a foreigner with a fake diploma, bachelor's degree and MBA can become a Senior Manager in Singapore. Looks like we don't need qualifications to be Senior Managers!
5) Cecilia Wong - Senior Manager, CSR & Corp Communication at Mitsui Chemicals Asia Pacific, Ltd.
LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/pub/cecilia-lee/21/5a0/814

She has a bachelor's degree from Pacific Western University which is a degree mill too.
(Proof: https://peoplecheck.co.kr:442/resources/down/list01.pdf, http://therealsingapore.com/content/...ogus-varsities and http://www.degreeinfo.com/accreditat...niversity.html ). Despite the dubious degree, she is a Senior Manager.

6) Paul Kan

He was able to work at Resorts World Sentosa despite having a degree from Rochville University which is a degree mil (Listed here: https://peoplecheck.co.kr:442/resources/down/list01.pdf and http://news.asiaone.com/News/Educati...829-84946.html)
His LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/pub/paul-kan/13/117/580
Not only that, he is also certified to do HR administration and hire people despite he himself having an unreliable and dubious degree,.

7) M.A. Wahab - Working at JMJ Associates
This news came from the $$$$$$$$$$$$ forum. You can find the article on him here: http://forums.$$$$$$$$$$$$.com.sg/ea...s-5030268.html

It is sad that a whole generation of Singaporeans who worked hard and obtained degrees from credible universities were passed over in favour of foreigners and people who had questionable degrees from degree mills. It seems that the PAP government has failed to ensure a meritocratic Singapore where all Singaporeans have equal opportunities.

As of today, there is no response from former Minister for Manpower, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin or the PAP government. Are they hoping that Singaporeans will forget this matter and not question the blatant negligence by MOM for the past decade? Is this a sign that the government is not concerned about ensuring the fairness of the job market for decent, honest and hardworking Singaporeans? What now for Singaporeans who have degrees from the local universities and reliable private universities?

Since there is no discrimination between degrees, it would not be surprising if a NUS or NTU degree turns out to be worth the same as a degree from Dublin Metropolitan University. That's a lot of hard work going to waste. Is the government committed to ensuring that degree holders who have genuinely worked hard for their degrees will be favoured over foreigners with shoddy, questionable degrees? It is a shame that there seems to be no line of defense against 'hungry' foreigners who are eager to compete with Singaporeans for local job opportunities.

Albert
TRS Contributor


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