Beware the ‘doctors’ at large

NST :The companies phone their targets and praise their achievements in society before telling them that a special select committee has shortlisted them for a doctorate.
Sukumaran (not his real name), who is the head of an association, said he got a call two months ago from a company in Kuala Lumpur offering a doctorate at a price.
He said he rejected the offer as he did not want to contribute to the proliferation of dubious doctorate holders.
A businesswoman who wanted to be known only as Carol said: "I received a call last December. I don’t know how they got my number. I rejected the offer as I was doing a master’s degree."
Acknowledging the problem, Higher Education Deputy Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said: "This malpractice has been rampant for years. It is not easy to track down the culprits who play a hide-and- seek game with the authorities. Some targets are attracted by the title without knowing what is it about. Since it is for sale, they are willing to pay.
"Worse still, they print the title ‘Dr’ before their names on business cards to show it is an earned title although the title is actually awarded to them. And they insist that you call them Doctor. It is wrong."
"This explains why there are so many self-proclaimed doctorate holders," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.