In a Facebook post, Khairul thanked Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) for providing clarification on his academic background.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the clarification provided by UMPSA Advanced executive officer Ahmad Johari Mohammad, confirming the validity of my master’s degree, which ideally should not have required clarification,” he said.

He also posted a photo of his master’s certificate, dated September 2021, from UMPSA, as well as a letter confirming that he had been conferred the certificate by the university’s senate in the same year.

A netizen had questioned Khairul’s academic background based on a poster of his profile as PN’s candidate for the May 11 polls.

The post, which garnered more than 526,000 views, asked how it was possible for Khairul, 49, to immediately pursue his master’s degree after completing his diploma within a year at Universiti Malaya.

“Within a span of two years, he completed his master’s. Mind you, this was during the movement control order period,” the post read.

“What’s ‘amazing’ is that before obtaining his diploma, he was already the managing director of an oil and gas company and even served as a finance executive at Bursa Malaysia. To anyone working with UM, UMPSA, and Bursa, please help us verify the facts.”

Khairul said attacks on his character were something that he should be prepared for.

“It is my commitment that we will continue to campaign in a healthy manner and will not entertain any personal attacks against me, as we go forward as a team with PN,” he said.

Earlier, Selangor PN chief Azmin Ali said they were satisfied with Khairul’s credentials, which they had verified.

“There is no need for candidates to display their education certificates during the campaign because the party (Bersatu) has already conducted a rigorous screening process,” he said.