Malaysia's number of problematic academic articles relatively low, says Mustapha
Source: Daily Express Sabah
PETALING JAYA: Despite Malaysia being ranked sixth in a list of countries with the highest rate of academic paper retractions, the higher education ministry says the number of problematic local articles remains relatively low.
Deputy higher education minister Mustapha Sakmud said only 17.2 out of every 10,000 Malaysian research papers published were retracted, which does not warrant significant concern.
ADVERTISEMENT
"As I mentioned earlier, we have made efforts to ensure our researchers and their work are screened as thoroughly as possible, especially at the university level," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
"Journals undergo screening at the university level before publication. They are also screened by journal publishers upon submission. They have their own people to do so."
SPONSORED CONTENT Sabah revenue hits RM6.97 billion: Hajiji says GRS State Government may see full term Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year. Read more Mustapha was responding to a supplementary question from Tan Hong Pin (PH-Bakri) who queried whether factors such as the academic environment's lack of autonomy had contributed to Malaysia's sixth-place ranking for academic paper retractions.
Earlier this year, Universiti Putra Malaysia academics Rozita Che Rodi and Hashim Musa were accused of misrepresenting Malay maritime history in academic journal "The Jongs and The Galleys: Traditional Ships of The Past Malay Maritime Civilization".
ADVERTISEMENT
The journal was published in the International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Vol 13, Issue 11, 2023.
Mustapha also said a special committee comprising experts from various universities had been established to study trends in predatory journal publications and paper retractions across public universities.
ADVERTISEMENT
"This committee will propose several suggestions to curb publications in predatory journals, such as sharing a list of such journals and reviewing criteria in the Malaysia Research Assessment, also known as MYIRA 2.0."
The higher education department issued a circular on July 13, 2023, prohibiting the use of government funds for payments to specific publishers, he added.
Mustapha was responding to Tan's initial question about the ministry's plans to address the issue of high paper withdrawal rates in academic journals.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.