25 July 2019

We stand with the pro-democracy defenders of Hong Kong

Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak or Malaysian Academics Movement) expresses our solidarity with the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union and Hong Kong pro-democracy defenders, particularly concerning the safety and security of the street protesters who courageously fight for democracy in Hong Kong.

The unique struggles of Hong Kong pro-democracy defenders demonstrate to the world that “one country, two systems” format is an alternative format of democracy, which is a process in constant evolution.

Recognising that Hong Kong is also part of China, we believe that under a “one country, two systems” formula, Hong Kong people should be allowed to express their political concern for an independent judiciary in Hong Kong.

Gerak upholds not only academic freedom but also democracy and human rights. In the face of escalated violence in Hong Kong, it is imperative for us to stand in solidarity with democracy defenders in Hong Kong in support of the values of dignity, democracy and social justice.

Gerak is also strongly concerned that the recent attacks on civilians in Yuen Long must not be used as a pretext for what could be a catastrophic crackdown on the protesters later.

Reaffirming our solidarity with the Hong Kong democracy defenders, we condemn all forms of violence. Gerak urges the government of Hong Kong to respect the demand of its citizens to withdraw the extradition bill and drop all charges against the pro-democracy demonstrators.

Gerak also urges the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to set up an independent inquiry to investigate the excessive use of force by the police and the alleged failure of police to protect the citizens during the organised attacks.

Executive Council of the Malaysian Academics Movement (GERAK)

Statement 9 July 2019

PERGERAKAN Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak) is deeply concerned with the recent public comments made by the media and communications adviser to the prime minister, A. Kadir Jasin.

Kadir apparently was upset with the writings and revelations of a lone, rather junior, academic from UKM, Abdul Muein Abadi.

Muein, who is currently working on his PhD in Leiden, Holland, incurred Kadir’s wrath in an article which asserted that the Pakatan Harapan government had sold off RM20 billion in assets since winning GE14.

The article was posted on Umno-Online, Umno’s official news portal.

It is a rather shaky article that has 40 points, accompanied by links and little discussion or analysis. It’s the kind of sensationalist, pseudo-academic piece that throws a few reports together, without context or explanation.

Based on this flimsy piece, Kadir started hurling accusations of a conspiracy by the oft-mentioned but seldom analysed “deep state”.

In his diatribe, Kadir lumped together Muein with the UKM vice-chancellor and the chair of UKM’s board of directors as possible deep-state conspirators.

And he then asserted that Education Minister Maszlee Malik was being taken for a ride by these evil-doers.

Yes, this outburst was based on an article with fewer than 1,500 words.

Kadir evidently is no academic. Otherwise, he would have easily differentiated between a well-discussed academic analysis and really, a first year undergraduate piece like Muein’s.

But Gerak’s more serious contention is that even if it had been a thorough, well-researched and analysed paper criticising the PH government, so what?

Academic freedom and responsibility means seeking truths and verifying them. And often the truth need not necessarily be our truth and will hurt. But differences of opinion and dissent are part and parcel of academia, of knowledge acquisition and generation.

If the work is faulty and clearly biased, it is our task – and indeed even Kadir’s – to criticise the work, reveal its limitations and failings, and come up with a counter.

This was what happened earlier this year when the substandard work on the Statute of Rome, by the four now-disgraced academics from UIA, UiTM and USIM, was systematically and comprehensively critiqued and dismissed by real experts.

That these four did not defend their stand at all speaks volumes of their shame and possible loss of face and credibility.

None of us asked for them to be disciplined or even sacked. No one asked the Education Ministry and minister to interfere and punish them.

For Gerak, it must be the same with Muein and his article. Criticise his work if we must, question his value as a scholar perhaps.

But let us not get so paranoid as to believe, without a shred of evidence, that there is this big conspiracy.

Kadir may be the PM’s media and communications adviser. But as far as academia is concerned, he must not be our censor.

What Kadir is doing is political interference. What he is implying the education minister must do also is political interference.

This is not – and must not be – the way of the New Malaysia.

Gerak consistently rejects political interference in academia. Such interference is one of the major reasons Malaysian academia is in the sad state it is in.

Academic reform, however, slow, is taking place. But it won’t go very far if we allow these kinds of actions – by people who should know better – to continue.

– July 9, 2019.

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/482983

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/483143

https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/166782

Statement 5 July 2019

Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak) is appalled and disappointed with what clearly was an overreaction on the part of the minister of primary industries and the director-general of education in response to a school play staged by schoolchildren aged seven and eight years.

The initial knee-jerk reactions were based on sighting edited segments of a lengthier presentation by the children on the various crises the world faces, including the impact of industrial expansion on the orangutan.

Clearly, we would argue, this is a case of not seeing the wood for the trees and screaming blue murder at children who, really, could teach us all a thing or two.

We in Gerak understand that there is currently a lot at stake in regard to our palm oil industry.

We are aware of the vile propaganda being used by those opposed to the industry purely for economic reasons.

But it really is unnecessary for palm oil proponents to vilify critical comments – or even part of a play – as “propaganda” produced by evil people.

The way of a new, more open, Malaysia

The primary Industries minister has since taken a more conciliatory stand, expressing her ministry’s willingness to engage in dialogue with educationists and their charges, our schoolchildren.

This must be acknowledged and commended. This should be the way of a new, more open, Malaysia, with no arrogant presumption that “we know best”.

But despite this, the DG of Education at the Education Ministry appears to have totally lost the plot.

And this is what Gerak is critical of.

The Education DG talks about starting a probe into the whole incident and the school.

He appears clueless to the fact that young people around the world are actively expressing their concern at the sad state the world is in.

He seems to have forgotten that a similar incident happened in Penang last month.

Hence he has not learned from it; which is a trifle ironic for someone in charge of learning.

In Penang then, young students holding placards criticising “development” in Penang as part of the Global Climate Strike, were threatened with disciplinary action.

But, apparently, the education minister and his deputy rightly took charge and rescinded the silly order.

We in Gerak feel strongly that the old, authoritarian ways of top-down education must stop.

Indeed, unlike the DG, the minister, Dr Maszlee Malik, has been advocating a more liberating, critical approach to education, from school right through university.

There must be consistency.

Hence, we urge the Education DG to rethink his counter-productive threats, lest his words and actions contradict the minister’s progressive and reformist vision for Malaysian education.

5 July 2019

https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/482534

Statement 3 July 2019

THE Malaysian Academic Movement or Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak) is grateful and reassured that Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has issued a public statement condemning academic cheating and intellectual theft in our universities. We in Gerak feel vindicated because we have been aware of these wrongdoings for quite some time and had even approached the ministry about this scandal.

Gerak member Prof Syed Farid Alattas, who was quoted on this by numerous sources recently, had even presented a paper on these offences in one of our “Reclaiming Malaysian Higher Education” seminars and talks in 2018.

Unfortunately, academic cheating and theft of this nature have virtually become institutionalised. We know of supervisors taking credit for students’ work even without having provided any input whatsoever in writing the research papers. Indeed, there are supervisors who have the gall to demand their names to be put first in the list of authors for their students’ publications, often without having provided substantial – or any – input into the publications.

There’s at least one who, upon the registration of his PhD student, took her research proposal and used it for a grant proposal under his name, with no acknowledgement at all of the new student or that the whole proposal was hers.

For Gerak, these brazen incidents of fraud and academic bullying have simply gone on because university authorities – even in some premier Malaysian universities – have either turned a blind eye or have provided the institutional backing for these wrongdoings.

This deplorable state of affairs, of course, is not totally unrelated to our universities’ obsession with international rankings.

And the repeated incidents of such cases of academic dishonesty and bullying have been due to lack of due diligence on the part of our universities.

To be sure, the more established universities have their own books of Ethical Academic Behaviour, which state clearly that supervisors must contribute their own sections in articles in order to be included as authors. But, as many have gathered, stating and actually enforcing are two separate things. Putting names down as co-authors, irrespective of contribution, has often been seen as necessary for improving KPIs (key performance indexes) and the “good name” of the university. This desperate and contemptible situation MUST stop.

Gerak is aware that we are aspiring to be a regional – even global – education hub. For this to happen, we need to enhance our reputation, not destroy it. Indeed, Gerak believes that we need to remind ourselves that we live in a globalised, digitalised world where reputations that have been built over a long period of time can easily be destroyed overnight.

GERAK EXCO

3 July 2019

https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2019/07/04/cheating-and-intellectual-theft-must-end/

https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/482179