In making this call, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said presently there were many institutions, both locally and abroad, which were issuing tertiary certifications.

He told FMT that this made it difficult for employers to verify whether these certifications were genuine, and this was a cause for concern.

“To verify the authenticity of the certifications with the respective colleges or universities often takes too much time, if at all the institution responds.”

He said there were a number of risks when companies hired employees who lied about their qualifications, including not knowing what they were doing, which could cost the company money and damage its reputation, while also denying genuine certification holders a job opportunity.

Shamsuddin said this was why a central repository of qualifications, similar to the Credit Tip Off Service (CTOS) system was important.

“If we have a CTOS-like system for qualifications, it would make it much easier for employers to verify the authenticity of the job applicant’s qualifications.

He said the ease at obtaining fake certifications and low likelihood of being caught meant the problem was becoming more prevalent, and if left unchecked, could result in Malaysia earning a bad reputation in the global job market.

Meanwhile, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners president Akhbar Satar said employers must also do their part to carry out background checks.

He told FMT that while this did cost time and money, in the long run, it would be more beneficial to the company.

“Many employers only check if a job applicant has a police record, some do not even ask to see any certificate and rely only on the applicant’s resume.”

Earlier, The Sun Daily reported Akhbar as saying fake certificates, which cost as little as RM75, were flooding the job market, courtesy of those seeking better salaries.

He also said the Ministry of Higher Education should have a special unit to check on fake degrees.