Did Paul Yong fake his degree and commit rape?

 

Perak state executive councillor Paul Yong Choo Kiong had a high media presence since July due to a rape allegation against him.

 

As a state exco of Perak, Paul is in charge of housing, local government, public transport, non-Muslim affairs and new villages.

 

On July 8, a 23-year-old Indonesian woman who was working for Paul as a maid lodged a police report, claiming that she was raped by her employer in his house in Meru.

 

More than a month later, on August 23, the Tronoh assemblyman was charged with rape by the Ipoh Sessions Court.

 

Paul pleaded not guilty and has been on leave since August 25. In response to the charge, he said that the rape allegation is an ugly political conspiracy against him.

 

Nevertheless, this was not the first time for Paul to be in the media spotlight. The last time he gained high media exposure was in February. Unfortunately, the issue then was also not in his favour.

 

 

In February, the academic credential of the Perak assemblyman was questioned by the opposition. Nevertheless, Paul was just a part of a series of allegations on Pakatan Harapan politicians for faking their academic credentials. The others were Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya and former Menteri Besar of Johor Datuk Osman Sapian.

 

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong questioned Paul’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree that he obtained from University of Akamai.

 

It was reported that the degree Paul obtained from the United States-based university was not recognised by Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

 

In Paul’s defence, he said he obtained the degree legitimately. The issue of politicians and their academic credential then died later within the same month.

 

Could Paul Yong be innocent and those allegations against him made up by his rivals to gain political mileage?