Indonesian celebrity with ‘questionable’ degree raises eyebrows with Chamber of Commerce and Industry role

Some netizens questioned the achievement, arguing that honorary doctorates are usually awarded to individuals who have made notable contributions to academic research.

Until today, Mr Raffi has never written a scientific or academic paper in any field, reported Kompas.com. 

Several netizens began to dig deeper into the UIPM campus in Thailand.

An Indonesian citizen who lives in Bangkok, Niar Ibrahim Rose, revealed on her X account that she even went to trace the location. 

According to its official website UIPM-World.org, the campus is located at Vibhavadi Rangsit 64 Yeak 3 Alley, Takat Bang Khen, Lak Si, Bangkok.

She discovered, however, that the location turned out to be a hotel, not an academic campus. 

“As a citizen of +62 (Indonesia) who lives in Bangkok, I am curious about the university that gave Raffi Ahmad his honorary doctorate … When I arrived at Vibhavadi Rangsit 64 Yeak 3 Alley, it turned out to be a hotel.

“I asked the receptionist for the correct address stated on the UIPM website. It turns out it’s not a campus,” said the PhD candidate from Chulalongkorn University on Sep 29. 

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology also came out to say it does not recognise the validity of degrees issued by UIPM Indonesia.

On Oct 4, Director General of Higher Education, Research and Technology Professor Abdul Haris said in a statement that the degrees issued are invalid because UIPM does not have an operational permit to provide higher education in Indonesia. 

FAKE DEGREES IN INDONESIA 

Between January and March 2023, the Ministry of Education shut down over 17 higher education institutions for selling fake degrees, as reported by local media.

This was done to preserve the quality of Indonesian education in the country, while ensuring that graduates are equipped with high levels of competency and productivity when joining the workforce. 

In May this year, a civil servant from North Sumatra was found to have used a bogus degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sumatra Utara in Medan to apply for a job in the public works and spatial planning sector. 

Seven years into the job, it was discovered that the university never issued her the degree. 

And in 2020, a comedian turned university rector at University of Muhadi Setiabudi, Nurul Qomar was sentenced to one year and 5 months in prison after being found to have used fake master diplomas to qualify for his position, as reported by Detiknews.