Can we put an end to plagiarism in Indonesia

By Setiono

JAKARTA (JP): A serious intellectual crisis seems to have struck the academic world here, centered on the fact that plagiarism is now perceived as a common practice.

A recent report on a doctorate candidate of Gajah Mada University accused of plagiarizing a student's thesis was stunning. Two letters to this newspaper on Feb. 17 also accused a lecturer in Bandung of plagiarism in an article appearing in The Jakarta Post.

What is actually plagiarism? When is one said to have committed plagiarism? Are there penalties that should be imposed on those guilty of it?

In a book, The Logic and Rhetoric of Exposition, Harold C. Martin said that a plagiarist can be compared to a bank embezzler or a manufacturer who mislabels his product. Plagiarism can thus be well defined as a deliberate attempt to copy someone's intellectual enterprises without acknowledging or attributing the sources.

Any paper or scientific work containing no direct or indirect quote and no full acknowledgements of the original ideas can be considered as an intellectual fraud.

There are two types of plagiarism commonly found within intellectual circles. One is "word-for-word plagiarism". Plagiarists include verbatim proportions of another's writing in their work without enclosing the copied passage and identifying it in a footnote.

Written products of this type can easily be compared to its genuine work and obvious similarities in terms of content, style, structural patterns, and choice of words or vocabulary can be identified.

There are also plagiarized written works which are eloquently and skillfully prepared by restating and abbreviating someone's ideas or analyses without attribution to the source. This can be called "paraphrased plagiarism".

Proving whether the latter type is indeed the result of honest or deceitful effort is not easy given modifications in style and choice of words; yet the content remains essentially the same. Plagiarism in any form can impair one's intellectual property, and can result in moral degradation.

Rampant plagiarism can be found in universities and colleges where research and written assignments are the central agenda. In fulfilling these tasks students are compelled to hold responsibilities as a true scholar -- they should make clear what is theirs and what is not.

Students should also realize that to copy another's work is to defraud their university, and to act in a way morally indistinguishable from any other form of deceit; and that to intentionally misrepresent one's work is to show oneself unprepared to assume the responsibility presupposed by work at the college level. Such an act reflects immaturity in those professing to be a member of the academic community.

The habit of copying another's work is deeply rooted in our educational tradition. Teachers encourage students to provide answers in line with material provided to be memorized. In doing so they unwittingly leave students with an improper habit.

Plagiarism will keep mushrooming in the academic community as long as there are no stern penalties against it.

A fundamental aim of higher education is the development of intellectual honesty; hence plagiarism is indeed a serious offense and punishment should be severe. Those guilty of the act should be suspended or even expelled from their institutions or universities. Further attempts to subversive academic enterprises could then be immediately prevented.

The writer teaches at the English department of the School of Education, Atmajaya Catholic University in Jakarta.