UGM to decide on alleged plagiarism

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A Gadjah Mada University (UGM) team is to inquire into an alleged case of plagiarism involving a doctorate student, Ipong S. Azhar, and will complete its investigations on March 25.

A team member, Sunyoto Usman, said on Friday the four-member team needed more time to reread Ipong's thesis after questioning M. Nurhasim, a National Institute of Science (LIPI) staff member, who claims to hold the copyright to the data allegedly used by Ipong.

"We cannot reach any decision on whether Ipong committed plagiarism until we hear Nurhasim's clarification this morning. We need to reexamine Ipong's dissertation," Sunyoyo said.

Sunyoto said during the meeting that Nurhasim insisted that Ipong's thesis entitled "The Farmer Radicalism in the New Order Regime: A Study on Radical Peasant Movement in Subdistricts of Rambipuji, Jenggawah, and Mumbulsari, in Jember regency, East Java" was a carbon copy of his thesis "The Land Dispute in Jenggawah: A Study on Process and Problems in Resolving the Land Dispute in Jenggawah of Jember regency, East Java" which he wrote in 1996 to obtain a scholarship from Airlangga University in Surabaya.

Ipong wrote his dissertation to obtain a doctorate degree on sociology from Gadjah Mada University in 1999. The dispute emerged when the thesis was published earlier this year.

The publication of the book was then stopped following Nurhasim's claim.

Sunyoto admitted that the team found similar contents in the two theses that could indicate an act of plagiarism by Ipong.

"If our inquiry finds Ipong has violated academical ethics, we will notify the university senate who will decide Ipong's fate. The university's credibility is at stake," he said.

Other members of the inquiry team are Boma Wikan Tyoso, Tedjo Juwono and Sudikno Mertokosumo, all are professors.

UGM rector Ichlasul Amal earlier asserted that the university had the right to revoke Ipong's doctorate degree if he was proven guilty of copying Nurhasim's data.

Ipong has admitted his failure to accredit the data in his thesis, saying he suspected that Nurhasim also copied them from another thesis. Ipong said he was unable to get to Jenggawah due to security reasons.

But Nurhasim retorted on Friday, saying he collected the data during field research in mid-1995.

"I went to the district twice and interviewed local figures, including Muslim clerics Imam Mashuri and a Imam Khudori," Nurhasim told reporters. (44)