Scoring an internship at a reputable company is every student’s goal, as it can be a stepping stone to greater professional prospects.
However, some have occasionally resorted to unsavoury means to land such internships.
One man from Malaysia recently landed a plush role as an intern for a minister’s office. Nonetheless, it did not take long for sharp-eyed netizens to expose him for fabricating his qualifications and accolades.
Source: X
Following a viral X (formerly known as Twitter) thread that compiled all the receipts, his government internship and place in a premier youth fellowship programme were terminated.
This past Tuesday (12 Sep), X user @arfdy12 garnered attention for an investigative thread that dug into the achievements of a man named Muhammad Azhar.
Source: X
Mr Azhar became the subject of scrutiny following an Instagram post by Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
At the time, he announced Mr Azhar as one of 56 Perdana Fellows for 2023, an elite youth fellowship programme.
The post also revealed that he held a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the University of Malaya (UM).
Additionally, he supposedly had various notable achievements to his name, such as being runner-up in the 2021 Microsoft Imagine Cup.
A quick Internet search proved that two of the accolades did not have qualifying Malaysian participants in the listed years. The third accolade simply did not exist.
SAYS reported today (15 Sep) that Malaysia’s Bank Negara confirmed that there is no such award as ‘Best Delegate at the Bank Negara Fiscal Policy Summit 2021’.
The final nail in the coffin was the revelation that Mr Azhar’s degree is non-existent.
Source: X
According to a screenshot, UM lists several engineering programmes under its Faculty of Engineering webpage. That said, none of them match Mr Azhar’s.
On 13 Sep, the Perdana Fellows Alumni Association shared a statement on X that it had written to the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
Source: X
Additionally, it clarified that it does not possess the authority to vet applicants. Rather, its main function is to provide a community for the programme’s alumni.
Various Malaysian ministers also spoke out about the allegations, including Hannah Yeoh, who heads the Youth and Sports Ministry.
In a series of Tweets, she revealed that they had found one of Mr Azhar’s certifications to be inauthentic.
Source: X
As such, he was no longer part of the Perdana Fellowship programme. However, he would receive an offer to undergo counselling.
The ministry also vowed to launch an investigation to strengthen the programme in the future.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul Aziz has since removed the post featuring Mr Azhar on his Instagram.
He also acknowledged the matter via X, stating that his ministry and Mdm Yeoh’s were working together on the next steps.
This is not Mr Azhar’s first rodeo. In 2020, various news outlets reported that he had faked receiving a scholarship from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Source: SAYS
Similar to present day, Mr Azhar’s story unravelled on X where he tweeted about placing in the top 1% of NASA’s Artemis Challenge.
Back then, then-Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had congratulated Mr Azhar, which garnered more attention among Malaysians.
According to Malay Mail, the contest was reserved for US citizens and permanent residents and held on-site in Texas.
This immediately called Mr Azhar’s claims into suspicion.
After more damning evidence were levelled against him, he stated that he had been scammed by “ambiguous emails from NUS”.
If all the allegations are true, it is unfortunate that Mr Azhar has continued to manipulate the education system for his own gain.
In doing so, he may have robbed more qualified and deserving candidates of a valuable opportunity.
Here’s hoping that programmes like these will have a more stringent selection process moving forward so that such matters will not recur.
Also read: NTU Student Completes 8 Internships In 4.5 Years, Earned S$5,700 As A Computer Engineering Intern
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Featured image adapted from X.
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