YOURSAY 'UPNM must publicly declare its abhorrence of plagiarising by making its own investigation into the allegation of Ridhuan's plagiarism.'

Lecturer wrote to UPNM over Ridhuan's alleged plagiarism

Headhunter: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer Airil Yasreen, your grammatical errors actually caught the rat so don't feel bad about it.

Universiti Pertahanan Negara Malaysia (UPNM) professor Ridhuan Tee Abdullah's students must be having a good laugh at ‘Professor Photostat' for plagiarising your work.

Let's see what action UPNM is going to take against him. If they are concerned with maintaining their standard, Ridhuan should be sacked and stripped of his undeserved status.

Hibiscus: Plagiarising is a very serious offence in any university, bordering on criminality, as it is akin to stealing. UPNM must publicly declare its abhorrence of plagiarising by making its own investigation into the allegation of Ridhuan's plagiarism.

If Ridhuan is found guilty, then UPNM, to uphold its integrity, honour and dignity, must do the needful by stripping him of his title and rank which the university had bestowed upon him, and have Ridhuan dismissed.

If Ridhuan is innocent, then UPNM must defend Ridhuan of any accusation against him. To remain silent is not an option for UPNM if its graduates and academicians are to be held in high esteemed by society.

Odin: By virtue of the fact that Ridhuan has said that he wished to meet those who have accused him of having plagiarised someone else's work, he is indeed guilty as accused.

If he had not plagiarised someone else's work, he would have produced his thesis to prove that it was different from that written by the particular person whose work he had been accused of having plagiarised.

One does not need to be a genius to figure that out; all it takes is applying of one's common sense.

As to his pronouncement that those who have accused him of having plagiarised someone else's work did so to assassinate his character, it would appear to be as hollow as a drum considering he seems reviled by many over his inflammatory statements made in the past.

Whatever character he has had would seem to have been assassinated by he himself and, therefore, there is nothing left for anyone to assassinate.

Neutral Stance: Shame on you, Ridhuan. I wonder why Utusan Malaysia still gives him a column to write?

Cala: In defence of Ridhuan, we are all responsible. Context matters. Plagiarism is a serious offence in the West because it is against their tradition. There, researchers are held in high esteem and knowledge gained through research is deemed public property for all to share.

The West believes that through dissemination of knowledge in journals, society as a whole may progress. Through time only the truth prevails. Since plagiarism is copying and little contribution is made through this, plagiarists are rightly condemned.

But Malaysia is not in the West. What if the whole society endorses plagiarism? As otherwise, how can he get the promotion to professorship? In that case, how can one hold Ridhuan accountable?

Under former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad's influence, mediocrity is our culture. As a beneficiary of the system, Ridhuan must have possessed certain qualities that please the powers-that-be (see his promotion to full professorship).

In short, Ridhuan is a product of Mahathir's legacy and it is not only Ridhuan who should be held accountable for plagiarism. Why should he?

Appum: Now we hear about the plagiarism from the horse's mouth, so to speak. But Ridhuan will still be protected by the ruling regime, just you watch. Why? Because the word 'shame' doesn't exist in their vocabulary anymore.

Everything is blatantly done, the most recent being a whole bevy of women accompanying the PM's wife on a trip paid for by taxpayers. They are just thumbing their noses at us poor rakyat.

Anonymous #039163649: The other point is our children are going to get the wrong message about plagiarism when they see that the professor can get away with it and the university rewards plagiarism with a professorship.

Henceforth to ensure consistency UPNM and other universities have to endorse and reward plagiarism.

Our whole policy on plagiarism will have to be overhauled, otherwise students will come to view plagiarism positively and with pride.

Jesse: A pseudo academic seemed to have been caught red-handed. Once again, it demonstrates that promoting academics and public servants based on their support for Umno Baru and race breeds mediocrity.

Even those with ability are tarnished with the same brush.

Wira: Lessons to be learnt - in Bolehland, you can steal, you can bully the minority and ask them to go India, China, etc - their country of ancestral origin - you can murder, you can slander, you can spin and you can use institutions to help you to further your evil goals and you can always have your cake and eat it too as long as you are in this despicable group who is successful in poisoning the rural mass.

Tehachapi: When our institutions of higher learning exhibit this shameful behaviour, you know that we are in deep trouble.

If a professor has no shame about copying others, then what moral right does he have in his students and others from following the same example. This is despicable act and unbecoming of an institution of higher learning.

At the minimum, Ridhuan must be expelled from the university teaching staff. He has brought shame upon our university.

Anonymous #039163649: If UPNM refuses to act on Ridhuan, then at least it should change its name to University Plagiarisma Nasional Malaysia - the acronym ‘UPNM' can conveniently remain the same.

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