KUALA LUMPUR – Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan has pushed back against allegations questioning his intelligence and academic background, describing such claims as baseless and unfair.
Responding to what he termed as criticism from a “vigilante journalist,” Ramanan said comparisons of his intelligence quotient (IQ) with others were not grounded in fact and reflected irresponsible reporting.
“I don’t understand how you make that comparison. Am I too poorly educated?” he said, adding that such assertions were made without proper verification.
He stressed that his academic credentials are publicly available, noting that he is a qualified engineer who studied across multiple institutions, including universities in the United States and Australia.
According to him, his educational journey includes time at Mississippi State University, Swinburne University of Technology, and Queensland University of Technology, in addition to his earlier studies in Malaysia.
“I’m not belittling anybody here, but you get to write what you want without having any facts,” he said, expressing frustration over what he described as a lack of accountability in certain quarters of the media.
The politician also addressed questions surrounding his professional accreditation, explaining that earlier in his career he did not have the opportunity to register as a professional engineer due to industry requirements, including the need for supervised practice under a certified engineer.
“Before this, when I got into politics, there was never an opportunity for me to put IR because I had not completed the required training period,” he said, adding that such assertions were made without proper verification.
He added that even if he were to formally list such credentials now, critics would likely continue to cast doubt on their legitimacy.
“It’s sad. These are the kinds of things I have to answer. If I don’t respond, it seems like I’m hiding something,” he said during the Concorde session at Wisma Bernama today.
The remarks come amid growing scrutiny of public figures on social media, where personal credentials and qualifications are increasingly being debated in the public sphere. – April 16, 2026