P. Ramasamy

GEORGE TOWN (Sept 16, 2009) : Penang Deputy Chief Minister (II) Prof Dr P. Ramasamy, a former academic, has described plagiarism as the most endemic academic fraud in the Malaysian higher education system.

The veteran political science lecturer, who served at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for 25 years, said the recent case of two local lecturers found taking content from American websites for their book was just the "tip of the iceberg".

"Plagiarism is the biggest offence in Malaysian universities. But the (higher) education ministry is silent on this problem," he said.

"This affects the credibility of our universities. Academics just take things lock, stock and barrel from the internet… students copy, professors copy, associate professors copy."

The DAP MP for Batu Kawan said he planned to raise the matter in Parliament, and criticised the ministry and universities for their "lukewarm" attitude to the problem.

"I once investigated a lecturer at UKM who had written a number of books that were plagiarised. All the university authorities did was to freeze his increment, and he was later transferred to UUM (Universiti Utara Malaysia) where he served as a professor."

theSun had reported on Monday that two Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturers are facing action for plagiarism.

The duo - a professor and one who recently received her PhD – were found to have a substantial amount of content of their 64-page book on "Writing an Effective Resume" lifted from websites of American universities and given a local touch.

Ramasamy said there were many more serious cases and the problem was not just endemic among teaching staff but also among students. "I have failed students because they had plagiarised their work," he said after attending the state-level Malaysia Day celebration at Komtar yesterday (16 Sept 2009).

Meanwhile, Gerakan Youth secretary-general Dr Dominic Lau urged universities to sack lecturers and expel students who plagiarised, saying it should not be tolerated.

"Plagiarism is becoming a trend in the academic field and if we do not take stern action against offenders, academic standards will be greatly affected," Lau said in a statement.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said on Tuesday the government would not take action against the lecturers concerned and would leave it to UPM to take appropriate action.