SINTOK, July 2— Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) takes a very serious stand on the issue of academic integrity and its violations.

In response to the statement made by Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz on the same issue as reported in Malay Mail dated June 29, 2019, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani, stated that all members of the University community are duty bound to adhere to the value and act in accordance to its principles.

This involves acting with honesty, fairness, trust and responsibility which also requires respect for knowledge and its process. On the contrary, academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Any party found violating the value, particularly those that involve academic reputation of the university, must be subjected to disciplinary action.

He further reiterated that, “Academic integrity is of the utmost importance because of the trust and value accorded to the academic work. It is a cornerstone of the development and acquisition of knowledge.

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In other words, scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. More importantly, public perception vis-a-vis the stake holder, without a doubt, is directly influenced and affected by these aforementioned factors and thus, the University must take all the necessary measures to manage the problem well before it loses that trust.”

Prof. Dr. Ahmad Bashawir also clarified that the University has in place an efficient and reliable system for handling academic dishonesty, “At UUM, I can attest that any case pertaining to academic integrity that affects the reputation and image of the University, will be referred to the Disciplinary Unit as well as to the Anti-Corruption Committee for hearing.”

Not only that, any breach will also be subjected to the University’s Academic Code of Professional Ethics and upon conviction, the party concerned is liable for action in accordance with the Discipline Rules for Statutory Bodies (Discipline and Surcharge) 2000, Act 605, whichever applies.

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He went on to note that, “Thus far, I am happy to state that there have been no case leading to conviction of staff or students pertaining to academic integrity at UUM. We wish to maintain this position so as to safeguard our reputation as The Eminent Management University”.

*This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.