I refer to the Malaysiakini report DPP vs Pornthip video goes online, finally . It is just baffling to the public to be reminded of this quite ‘an unholy confrontation’ between the DPP and Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan of Thailand. Indisputably, Dr Pornthip is a renowned forensic expert and her credentials are well-acknowledged in Thailand and beyond the shores of her homeland.

Graduating from a distinguished university in Thailand, which is among the top five in Asia, has given her much pride in her career as a forensic expert. Dr Pornthip felt that nobody should pour scorn on Asians just because they had graduated from an Asian university. Academics and professionals would very much agree with her on this point.

Regrettably, as reported, the DPP mentioned in his discourse that the Malaysian government did not recognise her alma mater in Thailand. Questioning a person’s credibility, qualifications, and experience can be impulsively snobbish. This would never come about in an intellectual environment without first looking into the real facts related to one’s qualifications.

Insinuating that an Asian-trained doctor is less qualified than a Western-trained doctor is pretentiousness of the highest degree. Does it mean that a person must graduate from a Western university for us to recognise him or her as a very capable doctor? Why then are many Westerners studying in Asian countries - not only in the field of medicine but also in other disciplines such as engineering and IT?

What makes these Westerners venture into these Asian universities to seek an education? Could this also be an act of pride or portentousness on their part? Let us not have a warped mind when it comes to matters of education and recognition of foreign degrees. In this globalised world, we find people from all over the world flocking to all countries to study and this definitely includes Malaysia and Thailand.

There are many foreigners, including Westerners who are studying in universities in China, Japan and India. These people, after graduating, have returned to serve their country of origin and many others are serving the people in all parts of the world, including the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Many Asian countries have universities of excellent standard and are ranked among the top in the world. China for instance has over 20 first-rate medical schools which have produced thousands of graduates who are now working in countries all over the world. India too has a niche in medical education. Indian medical doctors graduating from India are practising in the US, England, Australia, New Zealand and other European countries. Many are employed by the respective governments to serve their people.

Unfortunately, there are still people who choose to close their minds and act pompously when it comes to education in Asia and ‘degree recognition’ in this globalised world out of mere prejudice against Asian degrees.

Ten to 20 years ago, many Indian IT graduates who were far more qualified and knowledgeable than their counterparts in Western countries were seldom appointed to hold important posts such as CEOs of giant IT companies outside India. But today we see them as well as other Asians becoming CEOs and managers of many successful companies in the US, England, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and even in Malaysia - despite holding IT degrees from India and other Asian countries.

We today observe many Asians - including those from Malaysia and Thailand - holding top posts in established foreign-based companies despite the fact that they only studied in their respective countries.

If some would want to dabble on the recognition of degrees then there is not going to be an end to it. How many of our local university degrees are recognised by foreign countries? For that matter, how many of our local medical degrees are recognised by foreign countries? Honestly speaking, most of our local degrees are not recognised beyond our shores. Sad to say, Malaysia does not even have a single university ranked among the top five in Asia.

Malaysia might as well forget about world ranking, as none of our local universities are even within the best 200 in the world. Such is the state of our local universities as scrutinised by some ranking bodies. But this does not mean that we have not produced graduates who are knowledgeable or competent.

There are dozens of universities in Thailand, China, India, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea that are ranked among the best in the world but not recognised by the Malaysian government. These first-rate universities draw thousands of students from as far as the US, Europe, England, Australia and New Zealand to study there.

Be that as it may, let’s not belittle Asian universities that have made its mark in education and ranked highly by some authorised ranking bodies. Let us stop looking down on Asians by having a stuck-up and jaundiced view of Asian university degrees. Many Asian universities today have in fact established itself as far as education is concerned and this has to be acknowledged by Asians themselves.

However, sad to say that university degrees are sometimes accorded recognition or are not being recognised by some countries because of political, ethnic or socio-economic reasons, and not because they are educationally hollow.