Perikatan Nasional election director Sanusi Nor said academic qualification is not the only requirement of a good leader, but PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil disagrees.

Fahmi said academic qualifications would help gauge a candidate’s ability to serve the people if elected and downplaying its importance was akin to “disregarding knowledge”, Bernama reported.

“Being a leader means we are often compared to (others) or serve as examples within the community. Therefore, we should be good examples and educators to society,” he was quoted as saying.

PKR’s candidate for the by-election, Joohari Ariffin, is a former lecturer at Institut Aminuddin Baki in Kedah, who obtained a PhD in management and education leadership in 2014.

Sanusi, speaking earlier in the day, said a person’s personality was one way to assess a political leader.

He defended the coalition’s candidate for the Sungai Bakap by-election, Abidin Ismail, saying that many political leaders have performed well despite not having a PhD or even a basic degree, Berita Harian reported.

Abidin, a logistics executive, has received criticism for not displaying his academic qualifications on his election posters, compared with Joohari.

The Sungai Bakap by-election on July 6 is a straight fight between Joohari, 60, and Abidin, 56.